Foreign buying lifts bond holdings by RM7.2bil to RM325.5bil
KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign holdings of Malaysian bonds posted a strong inflow in October, signalling confidence in Malaysia’s economic fundamentals.
Foreign investors bolstered Malaysian government bond holdings by an impressive RM7.2 billion in October, reflecting a robust confidence in the nation's economic fundamentals, according to MBSB Research's October fixed income review. The total outstanding value of foreign-owned Malaysian bonds climbed to a record high of RM325.5 billion in the period. The share of foreign holdings in the overall government debt rose marginally to 21 percent.
The US Treasury (UST) yield curve experienced a flattening in October, averaging around 5.12 percent amid heightened geopolitical risk and expectations for a delayed rate hike. Early in the month, a sharp sell-off pushed the 10-year UST yield to a multi-decade high of 5.342 percent. However, yields gradually eased lower throughout the remainder of the month.
This downward momentum accelerated following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement, where the committee voted 10-2 to hold the federal funds target rate steady at 3.75 percent to 4.00 percent. The split decision suggested a hawkish hold, indicating a potential for further monetary tightening, although the Fed opted to monitor incoming economic data before its subsequent policy decision.
Despite the hawkish stance, market expectations remain focused on a potential 25 basis points (bps) rate hike at the next FOMC meeting in December. Simultaneously, Malaysia's government securities (MGS) yield curve declined last month across all tenors, with most of the downturn occurring towards the longer end of the curve. This signaled a flattening of the yield curve.
The MGS 10-year yield fluctuated between 3.799 percent and 4.028 percent last month, while the UST 10-year yield moved lower within the range of 4.930 percent to 5.307 percent. Investors anticipate a hawkish and higher-for-longer policy stance from the US, which has led markets to price in a hawkish and higher-for-longer policy stance.
They also expect MGS yields to continue mirroring the movement in UST yields in the short- to medium-term, subject to inflationary risk and the potential for further rate hikes by the FOMC.
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.
