The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar and other major currencies on Wednesday as weaker US consumer and labour market data weighed on investor sentiment, Bernama reported.
At 8.02am, the local currency eased to 4.0795/0850 against the greenback from Tuesday’s close of 4.0790/0850.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 81.9 points in September, its lowest level since April 2014.
“Based on the survey responses, most Americans related the high cost of goods and services and oil and gas prices, in particular, to such pessimism,” he told Bernama.
He added that US job openings also fell in August, with the Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS) recording 7.079 million openings against the consensus estimate of 7.23 million.
Mohd Afzanizam said the downward trend in job openings had continued since April, although the US Dollar Index rose 0.17% to 101.372 points as Federal Reserve officials maintained a hawkish stance on monetary policy.
Against major currencies, the ringgit fell against the euro to 4.6257/6320 from 4.6235/6303 and weakened against the British pound to 5.3960/4032 from 5.3937/4016.
It also slipped against the Japanese yen to 2.5921/5958 from 2.5869/5909.
The local note was also weaker against the Singapore dollar at 3.1921/1969 compared with 3.1885/1934 previously and eased against the Thai baht to 12.1540/1759 from 12.1402/1632.
Against the Indonesian rupiah, the ringgit was little changed at 226.9/227.2 from 226.8/227.2, while it was unchanged against the Philippine peso at 6.52/6.53.
