- Eleven of the 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect Bank Negara Malaysia to stand pat for a third straight meeting, while the remaining see the Overnight Policy Rate lifted by 25 basis points to 3%.
- Price pressures — already elevated — could spike due to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s plans to reduce subsidies to check the government’s ballooning debt.
- BNM has three main reasons to hike by a quarter basis point on Thursday, Chin Yee Sian and Wong Xian Yong wrote in a note Friday.
- Anwar last month expressed confidence that gross domestic product will exceed the revised official forecast of 4.5%, driven by measures in the 2023 budget and renewed confidence among international investors.
Malaysia’s Next Rate Move Is Too Close to Call
Economists are almost evenly split on whether Malaysia’s central bank will hold or hike interest rates on Thursday, amid looming risks to inflation and slowing global growth.
Anisah Shukry
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