KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysia’s central bank left its key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, after hiking it for the first time in over three years in January, as easing inflationary pressures and solid growth gave it room to hold off further tightening for now.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) kept the overnight policy rate (OPR) MYINTR-ECI at 3.25 percent, in line with expectations of 12 economists polled by Reuters. On Jan. 25, the bank hiked the rate by 25 basis points to its current level.
“At the current level of the OPR, the degree of monetary accommodativeness is consistent with the policy stance to ensure that the domestic economy continues on a steady growth path amid lower inflation,” BNM said in a statement.
The committee will continue to monitor and assess the balance of risks surrounding the outlook for domestic growth and inflation, BNM added.
In its January review, BNM said it saw the need to take pre-emptive measures to prevent a build-up of risks from leaving interest rates low for a prolonged period of time.
A stronger economy allowed BNM to go through with what was a widely expected hike at the time – well ahead of the national election that is set to be a bitter fight between Prime Minister Najib Razak and his one-time mentor and a former premier Mahathir Mohamad.
