The Malaysian ringgit gained against the US dollar today after the nation’s central bank kept interest rates steady and decreased its reserve requirements ratio.
The Bank Negara Malaysia kept its key Overnight Policy Rate at 3.25 percent during today’s policy meeting as was expected by analysts. The central bank said in the statement:
At the current level of the OPR, the stance of monetary policy remains accommodative and supportive of economic activity. The MPC recognises that there are heightened risks in the global economic and financial environment.
The bank reduced its Statutory Reserve Requirement (SRR) from 4 percent to 3.5 percent, citing the following reason for its decision:
The decision to reduce the SRR is undertaken as part of a comprehensive effort by Bank Negara Malaysia to ensure sufficient liquidity in the domestic financial system, and to support the orderly functioning of the domestic financial markets.
USD/MYR fell from 4.3935 to 4.3801 as of 10:58 GMT today, touching the session low of 4.3645 intraday.
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