KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Bernama) -- Manulife Investment Management (Manulife IM) expects Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to reduce its Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) further in the second half of 2025 (2H2025) amid shifting global and domestic dynamics, supported by ongoing investor interest in the country’s bonds and currency market.
Its Asia ex-Japan Fixed Income head, Murray Collis, said the environment has become a bit more balanced over the past 24 hours, and he believes that the central bank (BNM) would consider another cut moving forward, given the recent trade developments and the potential impact on domestic economies.
“From the bond market perspective, we still like Malaysian rates and currency,” he told a virtual media briefing on the 2025 Mid-Year Regional Market Outlook today.
Murray added that local bonds are expected to benefit from the current easing cycle, noting that the market still offers a reasonable yield and Malaysia’s currency appears attractive from a longer-term perspective.
Yesterday, Bank Negara Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee announced a 25-basis point reduction of the OPR to 2.75 per cent, and the ceiling and floor rates of the corridor of the OPR were correspondingly reduced to three per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively.
BNM last kept the OPR at 2.75 per cent in March 2023. It was increased to three per cent in May 2023.
BNM is scheduled to hold its next Monetary Policy Committee Meeting on Sept 4, 2025.
-- BERNAMA
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