Oil Prices Climb as Middle East Tensions and U.S. Inventory Data Boost Market Sentiment 
Japan Services Sector Records Fastest Growth in Nearly a Year as Private Activity Accelerates 
China Holds Loan Prime Rates Steady in January as Market Expectations Align 
New York Fed President John Williams Signals Rate Hold as Economy Seen Strong in 2026 
U.S. Urges Japan on Monetary Policy as Yen Volatility Raises Market Concerns 
Stephen Miran Resigns as White House Economic Adviser Amid Federal Reserve Tenure 
Gold, Silver, and Platinum Rally as Precious Metals Recover from Sharp Selloff 
Japan’s Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Exports Hit Record High in 2025 Despite Tariffs 
Asian Currencies Trade Sideways as Dollar Stabilizes, Yen Weakens Ahead of Japan Election 
Why Trump’s new pick for Fed chair hit gold and silver markets – for good reasons 
China and Uruguay Strengthen Strategic Partnership Amid Shifting Global Order 
Federal Reserve Faces Subpoena Delay Amid Investigation Into Chair Jerome Powell 
The Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in its first monetary policy meeting of 2017 on Thursday maintained its overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3.00 percent, as it was widely expected. This decision was supported by stronger household demand, higher inflation prospects and weak MYR.
According to the monetary policy statement, the Bank Negara Malaysia noted that the private sector activity will be the key driver of economic growth and committed to continuously inject liquidity to ensure stable FX market.
“We expect inflation to edge higher to 2.7% in 2017 from 2.1% in 2016 on cost-push price pressures arising from firmer global oil prices and the government’s subsidy rationalisation scheme for cooking oil, and as the impact of MYR weakness starts to flow through,” said ANZ in its research note.
The ANZ in its research note mentioned that the measures that Bank Negara Malaysia implemented have provided some support to the Malaysia Ringgit (MYR) and enhance onshore foreign exchange liquidity. These pre-emptive measures will help stabilise the ringgit and support financial stability by restricting potential avenues for Malaysia Ringgit speculation, thereby ensuring a steady demand for the currency. Details can be found in the Supplementary Notice on Foreign Exchange Administration Rules
Nonetheless, Malaysia is still vulnerable to a stronger U.S. dollar and rising US Treasury yields. High foreign ownership of Malaysian Government Securities means there is a risk of further outflows, and the structural decline in the current account surplus has resulted in the ringgit being more susceptible to capital flows. These dynamics will exert depreciation pressure on the Malaysia Ringgit and constrain Bank Negara Malaysia’s monetary policy space, they added
Meanwhile, USD/MYR fell 0.34 percent post this release.
