Central Bank leaves rates unchanged in November

Bank stands pat again: At its meeting on 6 November, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) decided to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 2.75%, mirroring September’s decision.

Strong GDP growth and muted inflation motivate hold: The Bank did not cut the policy rate as the economy performed better than expected due to resilient domestic demand. Conversely, the BNM did not increase the policy rate as it projected both headline and core inflation to remain tame through 2026 on soft commodity prices.

Rates likely to remain on hold through 2026: Most of our panelists expect the policy rate to stay on hold until the end of 2026 as inflation remains subdued and GDP growth hovers near 2025’s projected level. That said, several panelists see room for a 25 basis point cut next year.

How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Malaysian interest rate projections for the next ten years from a panel of 20 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable interest rate forecast available for Malaysian interest rate.

Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Malaysian interest rate projections.

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