At its meeting today, Bank Negara Malaysia 's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to leave the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) unchanged at 3.50 percent.

The Malaysian economy continued on a steady growth path, with real gross domestic product increasing by 5.8% in the third quarter. The growth has been supported by continued expansion in domestic private demand as well as robust external demand for Malaysia 's exports. The growth momentum is expected to be sustained into the fourth quarter.

Weaker international oil and commodity prices and global competition, combined with a moderate environment of wage and price increases in the domestic economy sustained the downward trend in inflation. In October, the inflation rate eased further to 3.1%. While some uncertainty still remains, the broad underlying trend towards lower inflationary pressures is expected to continue into 2007.

The MPC also approved the schedule of MPC meetings for 2007. The current practice of releasing the Monetary Policy Statement at 6:00 p.m. on the same day as the MPC meeting would be maintained in 2007. 

Schedule of Monetary Policy Committee Meetings for 2007