Bank Negara likely to hike rates next quarter

For now, Bank Negara enjoys the liberty of keeping rates low as price pressures remain subdued but supply chain disruptions and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war pose a major risk to that outlook.

SINGAPORE: Bank Negara will keep its interest rate steady this week to support a still-nascent economic recovery, according to a Reuters poll, 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.