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THE ringgit opened marginally lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday, weighed down by a stronger US Dollar Index as investors repriced United States monetary policy expectations following softer labour market data.
At 8am, the local currency slipped to 4.0750/0850 against the greenback, compared with Friday’s closing level of 4.0700/0765.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd Director of Investment Strategy And Country Economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said weaker US non-farm payrolls data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged this month.
US non-farm payrolls rose by 50,000 jobs in December 2025, down from 56,000 in November and below the market consensus forecast of 60,000.
“For the ringgit, this translates into near-term pressure from a temporarily wider US rate advantage, even as Malaysia’s domestic and external fundamentals remain intact, implying the move reflects global rate dynamics rather than any local stress,” Mohd Sedek told Bernama.
Despite the softer opening against the US dollar, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies. It strengthened against the Japanese yen to 2.5768/5833 from 2.5805/5848 at Friday’s close and edged up versus the euro to 4.7376/7492 from 4.7383/7459. However, it weakened slightly against the British pound to 5.4581/4714 from 5.4579/4666 previously.
The ringgit traded mostly lower against regional currencies. It slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 242.2/242.9 from 241.9/242.4 at Friday’s close and eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.1650/1731 from 3.1629/1682.
It also declined against the Thai baht to 12.9992/13.0382 from 12.9474/9738, while remaining flat against the Philippine peso at 6.87/6.90 compared with last week’s closing range of 6.87/6.88. - January 12, 2026