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☆ Malaysian central bank says it won't use interest rates as a tool to 'somewhat defend the ringgit'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMalaysian central bank says it won't use interest rates as a tool to 'somewhat defend the ringgit'Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid, deputy governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, says its monetary policy will be determined by the growth and inflation outlook.

Persons: Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid Organizations: Malaysian, Bank Negara Malaysia Locations: Bank

☆ Malaysia's economy finishes 2023 on softer footing amid weak global demand
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The headquarters of Bank Negara Malaysia, the nation's central bank, stand in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday, March 4, 2010. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said the 3% year-on-year growth in gross domestic product during the October-December period was driven by improving labor market conditions and easing cost pressures. "Growth in 2024 will be driven by resilient domestic expenditure and improvement in external demand," the central bank said in a statement. The fourth quarter reading was below advanced estimates released on Jan. 19 by the Statistics Department and analysts' forecast in a Reuters poll of a 3.4% expansion. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, Malaysia's economy contracted 2.1%, compared to a 2.6% rise in the third quarter.

Organizations: Bank Negara Malaysia, Statistics Department Locations: Bank, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

☆ Malaysia central bank governor: Vigilant on upside risks to inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMalaysia central bank governor: Vigilant on upside risks to inflationAbdul Rasheed Ghaffour, the governor of the Bank Negara Malaysia, speaks to CNBC at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Marrakech, Morocco.

Persons: Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour Organizations: Vigilant, Bank Negara Malaysia, CNBC, International Monetary Fund, World Bank Locations: Malaysia, Marrakech, Morocco

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) maintained its overnight policy rate (OPR) (MYINTR=ECI) at 3.00%, in line with market expectations, and following an unexpected rate hike in May. "At the current OPR level, the monetary policy stance remains supportive of the economy and is consistent with the current assessment of the inflation and growth prospects," the central bank said in a statement. All 27 economists polled by Reuters had expected Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to maintain the benchmark rate, with most forecasting no change till the end of the year. BNM said growth prospects in Malaysia could be affected by the risks of weaker-than-expected external demand. The central bank estimates headline inflation to average between 2.8% to 3.8% in 2023, compared with 3.3% last year.

Persons: Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, BNM, Danial Azhar, Rozanna, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Bank Negara Malaysia, Bank Muamalat, Reuters, Thomson Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, Bank Muamalat Malaysia, Bank, Malaysia

☆ Malaysia's domestic banks have limited exposure to Country Garden -cbank
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Fathin Ungku/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Malaysia's central bank said on Monday that banks incorporated in the Southeast Asian nation faced limited financial stability risk arising from exposure to China's largest property developer, Country Garden (2007.HK). Such banks' exposure to Country Garden Real Estate Sdn Bhd (CGRE), the developer's wholly-owned subsidiary in Malaysia, amounted to less than 0.1% of total banking system loans and bonds by June 2023, the bank told Reuters in an email. "In the property sector, risks from unsold units from CGRE’s various projects in the country remain manageable," it added. "The current development with Country Garden Holdings Ltd in China is not expected to pose any material impact on the overall property market activity and prices in Malaysia," it said. Country Garden is building its largest overseas development, the massive Forest City project, across four reclaimed islands in the southern Malaysian state of Johor bordering the wealthy city state of Singapore.

Persons: Fathin, Anwar Ibrahim, Yantoultra Ngui, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, HK, Garden, Sdn, Reuters, Bank Negara, Garden Holdings, Malaysian, Thomson Locations: Forest City, Johor, Malaysia, Bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysian, China, Forest, Singapore

Second-quarter annual growth came in at 2.9%, central bank data showed. The economy is facing downside risks stemming from weaker-than-expected global growth, and a deeper or longer-than-expected technology downcycle," Governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour told a news conference. While he does not expect a worldwide recession, the governor said global growth will be below the long-term average. Malaysian consumers are also likely to be cautious in their spending going forward, leading to slower economic growth in the second half, he said. On Friday, the central bank said while cost pressures have eased, headline and core inflation will moderate further in the second half partly due to a higher comparative base last year.

Persons: Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour, El Nino, Abdul Rasheed, Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, Mohd Afzanizam, Alex Holmes, Holmes, BNM, Mei Mei Chu, Martin Petty, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: China, Reuters, Bank Negara, Bank Muamalat, Oxford Economics, U.S, Thomson Locations: KUALA LUMPUR, Bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia, Bank Muamalat Malaysia

July 6 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. U.S.-China trade tensions appear to be intensifying by the day - the latest flare up coming over Beijing's restrictions on exports of some metals - not the best backdrop for Yellen's visit on Thursday. However well - or otherwise - Yellen's visit goes, there will be no quick fix. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday:- U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visits China- Australia trade (May)- Taiwan inflation (June)By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Janet Yellen, Taiwan's Foxconn, Foxconn's, Wei Jianguo, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Treasury, Apple Inc, U.S, Vice Commerce, Bank Negara Malaysia, . Treasury, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Beijing, Malaysian, China, Washington, Malaysia, India, South Korea, Indonesia, New Zealand, Bank, Australia, Taiwan

☆ Asia pushes back on 'excessive' currency moves amid enduring dollar strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Japan finance officials have warned all this week against the "excessive" depreciation of the Japanese yen . Contrasting moves in the world's major currencies — including the Japanese yen, the Chinese yuan and the U.S. dollar — underscore the variance in domestic interest rates and monetary cycles. Authorities may be buying the Japanese yen "with the rise in USD/JPY set to run further," she added. The Japanese currency was hovering at about 144 against the greenback in Asia trade on Thursday. The central bank allows the currency to trade within a narrow band of 2% from each day's midpoint.

Persons: Sheldon Cooper, Carol Kong, Masato Kanda, Shunichi Suzuki, Philip Wee, Adnan Zaylani, BNM, Goldman Sachs Organizations: People's Bank of, Getty, U.S ., U.S, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Ministry, Bank of Japan's, Reuters, Finance, DBS, greenback, Japan's Finance, Bank Negara Malaysia, Central Bank Locations: People's Bank of China, Asia, Japan, China, Covid, Ukraine, Malaysian, U.S . Federal, Bank

May 3 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever. The U.S. regional banking index tanked 5.5% on Tuesday, its biggest fall since the depths of the crisis in mid-March. This may play into Malaysian policymakers' thinking as they prepare to deliver their latest interest rate decision on Wednesday. But that's what Asian markets will be waking up to on Thursday. Before that on Wednesday they have the Malaysian rate decision, services PMI data from Australia and India, and South Korean FX reserves to offer local direction.

March 9 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever. Unsurprisingly, Asian markets slumped on Wednesday following the surge in U.S. yields, implied rates and the dollar. MSCI's Asia ex-Japan index fell 1.5%, Hong Kong stocks fell more than 2% and the Hang Seng Tech index fell more than 3%. Bank Negara Malaysia surprised markets in January by keeping its benchmark rate unchanged. The potential for conflict between China and the U.S. appears to be inching up on a near daily basis too.

☆ Malaysia posts stronger-than-expected GDP in fourth quarter; global slowdown clouds outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The headquarters of Bank Negara Malaysia, the nation's central bank, stand in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday, March 4, 2010. The central bank has said it expects growth in full-year GDP to moderate to between 4% and 5% in 2023, amid a global slowdown. It added that did not discount the possibility of growth in 2023 being higher than expected, despite downside risks. "Malaysia will not go into a recession," Nor Shamsiah told reporters, adding that income was growing and investment numbers remained strong. The bank expected that over the course of 2023 headline and core inflation would moderate but remain elevated, she said.

☆ Malaysia Q4 GDP up 7% on year earlier, above forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Malaysia's economy in the fourth quarter grew 7% from a year earlier on continued expansion in domestic demand and resilient demand for electrical and electronics goods, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said on Friday. Gross domestic product (GDP) for all of 2022 had been 8.7% higher than in 2021, she said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the central bank to report October-December GDP 6.6% higher than in the same period of 2021, slowing from the 14.2% annual growth seen in the third quarter. Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Malaysia surprises by holding rates as economic risks loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( A. Ananthalakshmi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bank Negara Malaysia held the overnight policy rate at 2.75%. "Today's decision allows the monetary policy committee to assess the impact of the cumulative past overnight policy rate (OPR) adjustments, given the lag effects of monetary policy on the economy," Bank Negara Malaysia said in a statement. Future monetary policy moves would depend on both domestic inflation and the growth outlook, it said. The central bank has said growth in 2022 likely surpassed the government's 6.5%-7% forecast, but would drop to 4%-5% this year. Capital Economics said it now expects the Malaysian central bank to hold interest rates unchanged for the rest of the year, and begin cutting in 2024.

☆ Malaysia central bank to hike rates to 3.00% on Thursday: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Sujith Pai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) became in May last year one of the first Asian central banks to hike rates in the current cycle and has added a cumulative 100 basis points. Median forecasts in the poll showed inflation to average 3.0% this year, an upgrade from the 2.8% predicted in October. All but one of 27 economists in the Jan. 10-16 Reuters poll forecast the central bank to hike its overnight policy rate (MYINTR=ECI) to 3.00%, where it was before the pandemic, at its meeting on Jan. 19. While a slim majority of respondents, 13 of 24, expected rates to still be 3.00% at end-March, 10 of them had a 3.25% forecast. Nearly 60% of economists, 14 of 24, expected rates to reach 3.25% or above by end-June, a quarter point higher from a November poll.

Trading volume across the region may be lighter than usual on Monday because U.S. markets are closed for Martin Luther King Day. While the BOJ is expected to leave its central 'yield curve control' targets at -0.10% for short-term rates and 0% for the 10-year bond yield, all eyes will be on whether policymakers make further adjustments to yield-curve control (YCC) bands following December's surprise tweak. The BOJ may also raise its inflation forecasts on Wednesday, ahead of December inflation data on Friday. Later in the week, Bank Indonesia is expected to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points to 5.75%. Bank Negara Malaysia is expected to raise rates by a quarter point on Thursday, to 3.00%.

☆ Malaysia Q3 GDP up 14.2% y/y, beats forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Malaysia's economy grew 14.2% from a year earlier in the third quarter, boosted by rising domestic demand and robust exports, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said on Friday. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected gross domestic product to jump 11.7% in the July-September period, accelerating from the 8.9% annual growth seen in the second quarter. Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Malaysia's economy posts double-digit growth for first time in a year in the third quarter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Malaysia's economy posted double-digit growth for the first time in over a year in the third quarter, boosted by rising domestic demand and strong exports, the central bank said on Friday. Gross domestic product (GDP) in July-September rose 14.2% from a year earlier, at a faster pace than the 11.7% growth forecast in a Reuters poll and up from the 8.9% annual rise in the previous quarter. That was also the fastest pace of growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy expanded 16.1%. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said the jump was driven by a continued expansion in domestic demand, a firm recovery in the labor market, robust exports, and ongoing policy support. "Because of the healthy growth outturn, growth this year will exceed the 7% projected earlier," BNM Governor Nor Shamsiah Yunus told a news conference.

☆ Bank Negara Malaysia set to hike for fourth time in a row on Nov. 3 - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Shaloo Shrivastava | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) started raising rates in May even though inflation was within its target range of 2%-3%. It has since hiked rates by 75 basis points to keep inflation in check. All but two of 27 economists in the Oct. 25-31 poll predicted BNM would hike its overnight policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% from 2.50% at its Nov. 3 meeting. While 13 of 18 penciled in a 25 basis point hike in Q1, three said 50 basis points. The median forecast showed the overnight policy rate would remain at 3.00% until at least the end of next year.

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