Bank Negara maintains OPR at 3.25 per cent after MPC meeting

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KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has maintained the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 3.25 per cent after the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting which ended yesterday.

In a statement, the central bank said at the current OPR level, the degree of monetary accommodativeness is consistent with the intended policy stance.

“The MPC will continue to monitor and assess the balance of risks surrounding the outlook for domestic growth and inflation,” it added.

The MPC meeting is the fourth held this year and the first chaired by the newly-appointed Governor, Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus.

BNM said the Malaysian economy continued to expand in the first half of 2018, supported by private sector activity with additional impetus from net exports.

It said the positive growth performance is expected to be sustained, driven by both domestic and external demand.

“Private consumption will be underpinned by continued wage and employment growth, with an additional lift from higher household spending due to the tax holiday.

“While investment activity is projected to be supported by capacity expansion mainly in the export-oriented industries and ongoing infrastructure projects, particularly in the transport and utilities sub-sectors,” it added.

The central bank said the external sector will continue to benefit from the sustained global growth momentum and the growth outlook will be further supported with greater certainty in domestic policy in the coming months. — Bernama