KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian interest-rate swaps climbed for a third day on Thursday as traders maintain bets for policy tightening even as data showed inflation eased last month. The one-year interest-rate swaps rose one basis points to 3.65%; swaps have gained since Bank Negara Malaysia signalled on Nov 9 it may raise interest ratesThe US dollar/ringgit fell 0.1% to 4.0712. He doesn’t see Bank Negara tightening policy at January review as policy makers would want to prevent excessive ringgit strength given the economy’s heavy dependence on exports. RHB expects Bank Negara to raise the benchmark rate by 25bps next year, economists including Arup Raha write in report. “Increase to take place amid further strengthening in domestic economy and will be in tandem with policy tightening by major central banks,” it said.

Source: The Star December 21, 2017 03:56 UTC