Malaysian Central Bank releases interest rate decision

The Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM) will release its overnight policy rate (OPR) today.

In the recent years, Kuala Lumpur saw its economy grow as the inflation rate remained steady. However, the national currency has devalued significantly against the US Dollar due to increased US interest rates and China’s economic woes. This led to the country’s impoverished community to struggle to acquire basic food needs as they could not keep up with the high consumer price index, which rose 1.8 percent from the previous year.

After today’s monetary policy meeting, the BNM will likely announce that it will keep interest rate fixed at 3 percent. Moving forward, the interest rate will likely remain steady until 2026. Kuala Lumpur’s GDP is expected to increase during the short-to medium-term as economists foresee domestic economic activity will be strong. For the impoverished community, the Malaysian government is preparing to introduce a plan which will provide social assistance to poor households. In this framework, the Malaysian government could create a cash handout programs to families that earn less. In addition, the Malaysian government could possibly consider raising the minimum wage to at least 2,000 ringgit a month from 1500 ringgit.