On Thursday, Malaysia’s central bank kept the benchmark interest rate at 2.75%, saying that it is in the process of assessing the effect of the interest rate change that occurred four times consecutively last year.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said in a statement about today’s decision, that its approved monetary policy committee estimated the impact of the accumulation of past overnight policy rate (OPR) adjustments, which led to the slower impact of monetary policy on the economy.
BNM raised the total interest rate by 100 basis points since last May from the lowest level that has been on a record of 1.75%, as the government looked to control inflation amid the strong growth.
Malaysia’s economy has strongly revived, as it was weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the global economic slowdown, BNM expected 2022 growth to exceed 6.5%–7%, while the government expected moderate growth of 4%–5% this year.
