Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (March 6): AmBank Research said as it expected, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) left the overnight policy rate (OPR) unchanged at 3.25% during the latest Monetary Policy Meeting (MPC) with a more “cautious” tone.

In a note today, AmBank group chief economist and head of research Dr Anthony Dass said the central bank acknowledged that “downside risks from unresolved trade tensions, heightened uncertainties in the global and domestic environment, and prolonged weakness in the commodity-related sectors could further weigh on the domestic growth though the baseline forecast appears to remain on a steady growth path”.

He said with BNM having acknowledged the downside risks in the economic and financial environment, and the need to monitor and assess the balance of risks surrounding the outlook for domestic growth and inflation, it supports his view for a rate cut to most likely take place during the July 9 MPC meeting rather than the May 7 MPC meeting by 25 basis points after taking into account of some recent anecdotal evidences of the macro figures that revealed a weak trend.

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