Bank Negara to hike rates next quarter

BENGALURU: Bank Negara will keep its interest rate steady this week to support a still-nascent economic recovery, a Reuters poll showed, but start tightening policy next quarter to avert rising inflationary pressures.

That accommodative stance was in stark contrast to other major central banks and some of its Asian peers which are hiking interest rates at a much faster rate than earlier thought to rein in stubbornly high inflation.