The ringgit was little changed against the US dollar on Friday as investors awaited the US Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) report to be published later today.
At 9am, the ringgit rose to 4.6930 against the USD from Thursday's 4.6935.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Afzanizam said US NFP data is expected to reach 186,000 in May from 175,000 previously. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is likely to remain at 3.9%.
The ringgit is likely to remain in a range for the rest of the day. If NFP comes in lower than expected, it will drag the US dollar down.
For now, market forecasts expect the USD to remain strong following the signal that the Federal Reserve (Fed) is seen to be in no rush to ease its monetary policy.
He also said that he saw interest rates by global banks have reached their peak. The European Central Bank (ECB) has already initiated a rate cut following a similar move by the Bank of Canada (BoC) this week.
The ringgit traded lower against a group of major currencies.
The local unit eased against the Japanese yen to 3.0132/3.0166 from 3.0094/3.0113, it eased against the British pound to 6.0014/6.0078 from 5.9997/6.0035 previously and eased against the euro at 5.1107/5.1161 from 5.1065/5.1098 at Thursday's close.
Meanwhile, the ringgit is mixed compared to Asean regional peers.
It eased against the Thai baht to 12.8921/12.9101 from 12.8660/12.8798 at yesterday's close and eased against the Singapore dollar to 3.4874/3.4914 from 3.4842/3.4866.
The local currency was also almost flat against the Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah at 8.01/8.03 from 8.01/8.02 and 288.5/288.9 from 288.6/288.8 respectively.
