Bank Negara increased OPR to 3.25%

As expected, Bank Negara (BNM) has, at its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting today (25 January 2018), made the decision to increase the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by 25 basis points from 3% to 3.25%.

This is the reverse of the last action taken on 13 July 2016, which reduced the OPR by 25 basis points from 3.25% to 3%.

For investors, if you are holding shares of financial institutions, this is a short term good news to you. If you are holding shares which the company is having high debt/equity (D/E) ratio, you need to evaluate how much will this OPR rise impact on the company's financial situation.

If you are planning to take a hire purchase (eg. buying a vehicle), act fast before the borrowing interest rate increases soon. If you are serving a home loan, expect your monthly commitment to your mortgage to slightly increase from now on.

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• How the OPR can affect the economic climate