KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today after US job openings dropped to the lowest level in more than three and a half years in September, sustaining the narrative for more interest rate cuts in the United States.

At 8.03 am, the local currency advanced to 4.3675/3800 against the greenback compared with yesterday's close of 4.3760/3810.

The US Job Opening and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed a drop of 418,000 job openings to 7.443 million in September, the lowest level since January 2021.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the job openings were lower than expected at 7.443 million in September versus market expectations of 7.98 million and 7.861 million in August. "On that note, perhaps the ringgit could receive some support today after experiencing a depreciation trend for quite some time," he told Bernama.

SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said the easing in US data boosted expectations for (another) interest rate cut in December, bringing some relief to Asia's forex landscape. The US Federal Reserve (Fed) is also expected to make a 25 basis points cut in November.

At the close, the ringgit was mostly higher against a basket of major currencies.

It edged up versus the Japanese yen to 2.8503/8586 from 2.8516/8550 at Tuesday's close and gained against the euro to 4.7265/7400 from 4.7344/7398 yesterday, but it dropped vis-a-vis the British pound to 5.6839/7001 from 5.6805/6870 previously. 

The ringgit also traded mostly higher versus ASEAN currencies.

The local currency was slightly firmer against the Indonesian rupiah at 276.9/277.8 compared with 277.4/277.9 at yesterday's close, but appreciated vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.2997/3094 from 3.3044/3084 and  improved  versus the Philippine peso to 7.49/7.52 from 7.51/7.52 yesterday 

However, it slid against the Thai baht to 12.9742/13.0171 from 12.9544/9746 previously.

 - BERNAMA