Ringgit forwards extend drop as U.S. jobs may point to Fed hike

Malaysian ringgit forwards fell for a sixth day in the longest stretch of losses since December before a U.S. jobs report that’s being watched for a clearer picture on when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.

U.S. companies probably took on 225,000 workers in May, according to a Bloomberg survey ahead of the June 5 data.

A gauge of the dollar rallied to a six-week high last month, while the ringgit dropped 2.8 per cent.

The index fell on May 8 when the world’s largest economy created fewer jobs than economists estimated.

Figures at the end of the week may show Malaysian exports contracted in April for a third month in 2015.

“The concern about whether the dollar will get a lot stronger as we approach the non-farm payrolls” fueled the drop in ringgit forwards, said Suresh Kumar Ramanathan, a foreign- exchange strategist at CIMB Investment Bank Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur.

“If these numbers play up very strongly, it heralds a Fed rate hike in September.”

One-month non-deliverable forwards retreated 0.4 per cent to 3.6776 a dollar as of 9:50 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur, after earlier sinking to a six-week low of 3.6820, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The spot rate was steady at 3.6683.

Malaysia’s exports declined 7 per cent in April from a year earlier, after increasing 2.3 per cent the previous month, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

They fell 9.8 per cent in February.

The nation’s government bonds were little changed, with the 10-year note yield at 3.92 per cent, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The yield climbed four basis points last week.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent Monday after increasing 2.3 per cent in May.

Twelve of the world’s 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg have fallen against the greenback in the past three months as bets for Fed tightening picked up.