Kuala Lumpur(VNA) – Malaysia's central bank decided to keep its overnight policy rate (OPR)unchanged at 2.75% on March 9 after a working session of its Monetary PolicyCommittee (MPC).

In a statementreleased after the working session, the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said that the MPC remains vigilant to cost factors, including thosearising from developments of the financial market that could affect the inflationoutlook.

Further normalisation to the degree of monetarypolicy accommodation would be informed by the evolving conditions and theirimplications to the domestic inflation and growth outlook, it said.

In the global economy, there were somepositive developments with the reopening of China’s economy andbetter-than-expected growth outturns in major economies, supported by resilientdomestic demand. 

Nevertheless, the global economy continuesto be weighed down by elevated cost pressures and higher interest rates.Headline inflation moderated slightly from high levels in recent months, butcore inflation remained above historical averages. Some central banks areexpected to continue raising interest rates to manage inflationary pressures.This will continue to pose headwinds to the global growth outlook. The growthoutlook remains subject to downside risks, mainly from an escalation of geopoliticaltensions, higher-than-anticipated inflation outturns, and a sharp tightening infinancial market conditions, it said.

The Malaysian economy expanded strongly, by8.7% in 2022 driven by the recovery in private and public sector spendingfollowing the full reopening of the economy. After the strong performance in2022, the economy is expected to moderate in 2023 amid a slower global economy,according to the statement.

In January, the BNM surprisingly kept itsbenchmark rate unchanged at 2.75% after four consecutive upturn adjustments in2022./.