Summary           Domestic consumption remained resilient, while the softer decline in exports together with better-than-expected economic performance and stable industrial production growth in China may indicate a potential rebound in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector. Despite a temporary pause in the dollar index’s rally against major currencies, the Ringgit ...

Summary           The latest economic data for Malaysia were mixed. Wholesale trade and domestic-oriented manufacturing production for July were rather resilient, whereas trade data showed continued weakness.The removal of the phrase “slightly accommodative” from the monetary policy statement may imply that the current interest rate level is appropriate. Bank Nega...

Summary          Malaysia’s economy registered decelerating growth of 2.9% in 2Q2023 (1Q2023: 5.6%), presaged by weaker external sector data. Nonetheless, the growth trajectory remains consistent with the official target of 4%-5%.The return of equity flows in July amid persistent inflows to the bond market led to a temporary appreciation of the Malaysian ringgi...

Summary           Malaysia’s external sector ended 2Q2023 on a weaker note, reinforcing our views of slower gross domestic product (GDP) growth data for the quarter. On the bond market, the yield spread between MGS and UST narrowed significantly and subsequently turned negative in July amid aggressive US rate tightening.While positive foreign flows into th...

Summary          The latest retail and exports data suggest that a slower domestic economy in 2Q2023 is imminent given the anticipated slowdown in the global economy. On the bond market, while MGS commands positive yield differentials with the UST, the spread has narrowed significantly since 2022.The continuing divergence of interest rate policy between Malaysia ...

Summary         Global Bond Markets     Global government bonds traded mixed in May. The UST market came under selling pressure in May as investors monitored the progress of the US debt negotiations and assessed the Fed’s interest rate policy going forward.  In Europe, the bund ended mostly firmer in May, with yields mostly declining on softer Europea...

Summary          Global Bond MarketsGlobal government bonds traded mixed in April. The UST yields largely declined on rising anticipation that the Fed’s rate hike cycle may end soon as inflation continued to moderate. Meanwhile in Europe, the longer-tenure 30-year bund yield rose as the market expected higher interest rate for longer to contain the elevated inflatio...

Summary          Global Bond Markets          Global government bonds saw risk-off rallies in March amid the banking sector turmoil in the US and Europe. As a result, bond yields mostly declined across the curve. Going forward, major central banks are likely to continue focusing on striking a balance between containing elevated inflation on th...

Summary     Global Bond Markets     Global government bonds mostly came under selling pressure in February on the growing possibility of “higher for longer” interest rate policy. This is not surprising given that inflation on both sides of the Atlantic continue to hover more than two times above major central banks’ 2% target. Meanwhile in China, bonds traded ra...

Summary          Global Bond Markets   Government bonds rallied on both sides of the Atlantic in January as easing inflation momentum renewed hopes of less aggressive monetary policy tightening by central banks. In China, relatively lower CGB yields became less enticing to investors as yields on developed economy bonds are expected to peak soon.Malaysian Gov...