KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit is expected to linger around at 4.21 to 4.22 against the US dollar next week but with an upside bias for the greenback after Friday's US non-farm payrolls (NFP) unexpectedly rose sharply by 254,000 jobs in September.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the stronger-than-expected US jobs reading is likely to further enhance the appeal of the American dollar.
"The US Federal Reserve (Fed) may resort to a measured approach to monetary easing," he said, adding that the strong NFP report signalled a robust US labour market that would allow the Fed to hike interest rates gradually.
The report also indicated that the US unemployment rate eased to 4.1 per cent from 4.2 per cent.
In addition, Mohd Afzanizam said the Middle East conflict continues to pose key risk factors, with the Brent crude oil price increasing.
SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes noted that the US dollar has been riding high on the back of rising oil prices.
"The solid jobs report would quicken the pace of a stronger US dollar, aligning with the Fed's dot plot, signalling a steady 25 basis points easing path and limiting the dollar downside heading into the election. At this point, we may have already seen the ringgit trade at its strongest for the year," he said.
The ringgit began the week strongly, hitting its highest level since April 2021 at 4.09 versus the greenback.
It emerged as a global best performer against the US dollar in a three-month period in the early part of the week before retreating amid the intensifying conflict in the Middle East.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit fell to 4.2155/2240 against the US dollar from 4.1230/1280 a week ago. It also traded mostly lower against other major currencies.
It dipped against the euro, closing at 4.6484/6578 from 4.6009/6064 last week but gained vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 2.8779/8839 from 2.8804/8841. It was lower against the British pound at 5.5505/5617 from 5.5178/5245 a week earlier.
The ringgit was also mostly down against ASEAN currencies.
It slipped vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.2489/2557 from 3.2146/2187, decreased against the Philippine peso to 7.49/7.51 from 7.35/7.37 and edged down against the Thai baht to 12.7549/7861 from 12.7202/7407 a week ago. The local unit ticked up slightly against the Indonesian rupiah to 272.1/272.9 from 272.5/273.0 last week.