BNM is slightly more confident on Malaysia's economic prospects

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) kept the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) unchanged at 2.75% during its September meeting, reflecting a more confident outlook on the economy, according to MBSB Research.

The research house noted that the central bank appeared less cautious compared with July, when it cut rates pre-emptively. It added that the lagged effects of earlier policy adjustments are expected to continue supporting growth into next year.

“In our view, BNM has a slightly more confident view on Malaysia’s economic prospects at the Sep-25 policy meeting, relatively not as cautious as in the Jul-25 meeting which led to the pre-emptive rate cut. We expect that the impact from the previous policy rate adjustments, given the lagged impact for it to be fully priced in in the economy, and could provide support to the economy even into next year.”