Kuala Lampur, April 3 --  

KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 - The ringgit strengthened against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, as markets positioned for a softer US non-farm payrolls (NFP) reading, weighing on the greenback and lending support to regional currencies.

At 8 am, the local currency rose 185 pips to 4.0180/0380 against the greenback, from yesterday's close of 4.0365/0430.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said expectations for the NFP data were increasingly skewed towards a softer reading that could weigh on the dollar.

"The move is broadly consistent with regional trends, as the Bloomberg Asia Dollar Index edged higher, signalling a wider recalibration in favour o...