Ringgit Dips Amid Stronger US Dollar and Soft US Jobs Data
Kuala Lumpur, 12 January 2026 — The Malaysian ringgit opened slightly lower against the US dollar today, influenced by a firmer US Dollar Index (DXY) and weaker-than-expected US jobs data that had investors reassessing US monetary policy.
As of 8 a.m. Malaysia time, the local currency was trading at 4.0750/0850 against the greenback, a small decline from Friday’s closing range of 4.0700/0765. Mohd Sedek Jantan, director of investment strategy and country economist at IPPFA Sdn Bhd, explained that the softer non-farm payrolls report for December 2025 reinforced market expectations that the US Federal Reserve would maintain interest rates at current levels.
“The US added 50,000 jobs in December, down from 56,000 in November and below the consensus forecast of 60,000,” Mohd Sedek said. “This puts near-term pressure on the ringgit due to a temporarily wider US interest rate advantage. However, Malaysia’s domestic and external fundamentals remain solid, so this reflects global rate dynamics rather than any domestic economic stress.”
Elsewhere in the foreign exchange market, the ringgit showed mixed movements against other major currencies. It strengthened slightly against the Japanese yen to 2.5768/5833 from 2.5805/5848 and edged up against the euro to 4.7376/7492 from 4.7383/7459 last week. In contrast, it weakened modestly against the British pound, trading at 5.4581/4714 compared to 5.4579/4666 previously.
Regionally, the ringgit faced depreciation pressures against most ASEAN peers. It slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 242.2/242.9 from Friday’s 241.9/242.4, eased off against the Singapore dollar to 3.1650/1731 from 3.1629/1682, and declined against the Thai baht at 12.9992/13.0382 from 12.9474/9738. The ringgit was flat versus the Philippine peso at 6.87/6.90 compared with last week’s close of 6.87/6.88. The global financial markets continue to monitor the US economic data closely as investors balance expectations of Federal Reserve policy moves against economic signals. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s economic indicators remain stable, with the ringgit’s slight depreciation predominantly reflecting global currency dynamics.
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