Surely many people already know that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will announce the monetary policy decision for the month of March on Thursday (March 9).
Many also expect an increase of 25 basis points and some also predict that the central bank will keep interest rates unchanged.
Among those looking at the possibility of a rate hike of 25 basis points is RHB Research, where the overnight policy rate (OPR) is projected to peak at 3.25%.
In contrast to Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd who predicted that BNM would leave the interest rate unchanged at the current level of 2.75%.
Supporting those expectations is a new poll by Reuters that sees the central bank taking the same step of keeping the OPR but raising it next quarter to 3.00%.
Meanwhile Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd analysts said there is a possibility for it to be maintained, but it is appropriate if it is increased because low interest rates can harm the economy.
Even so, after witnessing what happened in the United States following the latest statement by Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell, does the market still have the same expectations?
Everything will be decided tomorrow.
