Bank Negara holds fire on OPR, hike still in play [WATCH]
KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia may have held interest rates steady but the door remains open for a rate hike as early as the first quarter of 2027.
![Bank Negara holds fire on OPR, hike still in play [WATCH]](/img/18405658)
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's central bank, Bank Negara, may raise the overnight policy rate (OPR) to 3.0 percent as early as the first quarter of 2027, according to economists. The bank held the OPR steady at 2.75 percent at its final Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of 2026. Malaysia's economy showed strong growth in the third quarter of 2026, with exports thriving and domestic demand remaining robust.
The ringgit held steady against the US dollar, and inflation remained low, giving Bank Negara more flexibility to wait before acting. HSBC senior Asean economist Yun Liu expects the OPR to rise by 25 basis points in Q1 2027, but the move is likely to be a one-off policy normalisation rather than the start of a series of hikes.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
