Over 240,000 households could be deprived of homeownership if OPR increased 0.5%
A vast majority of Malaysian households, about 7 million of them (88.
A vast majority of Malaysian households, about 7 million of them (88.
MIDF Research said from a medium-term perspective, policy rate normalisation is needed to avert risks that could destabilise the future economic outlook such as persistently high inflation and a further rise in household indebtedness.
This is the fourth time that the MPC has decided to maintain the OPR at 3% since July 2023.
“The real danger is when borrowers are already struggling to service the monthly loan instalment before the OPR increase, they will definitely find it very difficult to pay for even the slightest increase in loan instalments.
In its recent OPR announcement, BNM highlighted that Malaysia’s GDP measure for 2023 indicates an improvement in the nation’s economic activity.
This is despite calls from some quarters for the central bank to raise the key interest rate to help stabilise the ringgit, which is near a 25-year low against the US dollar.
The last time Bank Negara Malaysia raised the OPR was in May, instituting a 25 bps hike to 3%, from 2.
The projection was driven by the ease of headline inflation year on year (y-o-y) to 2% in July 2023, from 2.
“Looking ahead, we believe that the BNM will be wary of loosening monetary policy too soon.
This is the third consecutive time that the OPR has been at 3%.