KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened easier against the US dollar on Monday due to continued positive sentiment towards the greenback which was bolstered by US Nonfarm Payroll data that exceeded expectations.

At 9.01 am, the local currency weakened to 4.7500/7555 versus the US dollar from last Friday's closing of 4.7460/7490

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US nonfarm payroll came in at 303,000 in March versus 200,000 based on market expectation.

"This certainly bolstered the case for the US Federal Reserve to delay their rate cut decision which would improve the US dollar view in the near term," he told Bernama.

Mohd Afzanizam said the ringgit is likely to remain soft today at RM4.74-RM4.75 as the holiday shortened week could also contribute to the lacklustre market activities which would contribute to the narrow range of ringgit.

US Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 303,000 jobs last month, surpassing the economists' forecast of 200,000 jobs, with estimates ranging from 150,000 to 250,000.

At the opening, the ringgit was traded higher against a basket of major currencies.

It gained against the euro to 5.1433/1493 from 5.1437/1470 at last Friday's close, inched up vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.9931/6.0000 from 5.9956/9994, traded slightly better versus the Japanese yen at 3.1310/1348 from 3.1341/1363 previously. 

The ringgit was traded mixed against ASEAN currencies.

The local note strengthened versus the Thai baht to 12.9400/9602 from 12.9495/12.9641 on last Friday but slid vis-a-vis the Indonesian rupiah to 299.6/300.2 from 299.4/299.8 previously. 

It went up against the Singapore dollar to 3.5190/5234 from 3.5208/5233 registered last Friday but was flat versus the Philippine peso at 8.39/8.41 since last Friday. - Bernama