Bank Negara Malaysia
Central Bank of Malaysia Cuts Interest Rate
March 3, 2020
Bank Negara Malaysia reduced its overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis points to 2.5%, its lowest level since July 2010. This was the second cut of 2020 and brings the cumulative reduction since May 2019 to 75 basis points. Today’s move may not be the final gesture according to a released statement: “The reduction […] More
Markets Looking for Action, Not Words, as Virus Spreads
March 3, 2020
Share prices had rallied sharply on Monday amid hopes for an appropriately forceful policy response to counteract the drag from the spreading covid-19 pandemic. The OCED is warning that global growth this year will slow to an 11-year low even if the virus impact is comparatively short-lived and that growth could be as low as […] More
Unexpected Central Bank Rate Cut in Malaysia
January 22, 2020
Bank Negara Malaysia became the third major central bank within a week to cut its key interest rate following moves last Thursday by the South African Reserve Bank and the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. BNM’s key interest rate was cut 25 basis points to 2.75%, its lowest level in almost nine years. […] More
Stronger Pound and a Central Bank Rate Cut in Malaysia
January 22, 2020
The dollar declined 0.7% against sterling but is narrowly mixed against other major currencies today. Stronger-than-expected British labor statistics released yesterday seemingly reduce the likelihood of further monetary stimulus by the Bank of England. Today’s batch of U.K. economic data releases produced a 5-month high in the orders component of the monthly CBI industrial trends […] More
Higher Bond Yields
November 5, 2019
Ten-year sovereign debt yields advanced by another five basis points overnight in Japan and the United States, by 3 bps in Germany and 1 basis point in Great Britain. The dollar fell 0.4% against the Chinese currency, edging back marginally under 7.0 yuan per dollar. Elsewhere, the dollar advanced 0.4% against the Swiss franc and […] More
Markets React to ECB Stimulus, U.S. CPI Data, and Continuing Hopes on Trade Talks
September 12, 2019
Policymakers at the European Central Bank as expected cut the deposit rate by 10 basis points to minus 0.50%, announced an open-ended asset purchase program to start in November at EUR 20 billion per month, said targeted LTRO operations will carry the average deposit rate, and introduced a a 2-tiered system of reserve remuneration in […] More
Dollar and Sovereign Debt Yields Up, but Equities Mostly Down
March 5, 2019
Overnight gains in the dollar amount to 0.6% versus sterling, 0.5% relative to the kiwi, 0.4% vis-a-vis the loonie, and 0.3% against the euro, Swiss Franc and Australian dollar. Ten-year sovereign debt yields climbed two basis points in Germany and the United States and a basis point in Japan. Stock markets fell 0.7% in Indonesia, […] More
Anxious Times for Investors
January 24, 2019
Investors continue to face three big uncertainties: the U.S. government shutdown, the fast-approaching Brexit deadline, and the failure so far of U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators to reach a mutually satisfying agreement. Planned senate votes on the border wall and shutdown are not likely to pass. The on-again, off-again scheduled state of the union address […] More
Malaysia’s 3.25% Overnight Policy Rate Not Changed after Latest Review
September 5, 2018
A statement released by Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee projects that inflation, which was at 0.9% in July, will move higher but sees core CPI holding pretty stable. Officials foresee Malaysia’s economy continuing to expand steadily but flag a few near-term risks like “heightened trade tensions, prolonged weakness in the mining and agriculture sectors and some […] More
Markets React as Trump Stirs Pot of Global Disorder Further
July 11, 2018
Share prices dropped 1.8% in China, 1.4% in Hong Kong, 1.2% in Japan, and 0.7% in Taiwan and Australia. In European markets, equities today are down over 1.0% in Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Switzerland, and the DOW dropped some 160 points in the first quarter hour of U.S. trading. There have also been outsized […] More
