Malaysia’s c. bank expected to keep rate steady – poll

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is expected to leave its key interest rate, the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) unchanged on Thursday at the current level until at least 2025, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

While the BNM has successfully managed to keep inflation in check at 2.0 per cent, the Malaysian ringgit has experienced a remarkable turnaround, transitioning from one of the worst-performing Asian currencies to one of the strongest in recent weeks.

No rate cuts are expected to see soon to curb inflation and avoid currency depreciation. All 30 economists in a recent Reuters poll forecast that BNM will maintain its policy rate at 3.00 per cent on Thursday.

A median projection suggests rates will stay unchanged until 2026, consistent with earlier forecasts. This stands in contrast to expectations of rate cuts by other major central banks in 2024.

“There is no reason for BNM to change the policy rate right now…as growth is at the higher end of expectations and inflation has been surprisingly benign,” said Lavanya Venkateswaran, senior ASEAN economist at OCBC Bank.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: Y.Yasser