Malaysia seen holding key rate as ringgit falters after Trump win

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's central bank is likely to leave its benchmark rate at 3.00 percent on Wednesday, a Reuters poll showed, after the ringgit currency was battered by Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election.

All 13 economists in the poll forecast no change to Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) key rate, on expectations that the weaker ringgit will stay the central bank's hand. It last cut rates in July.

On mid-Monday morning, the ringgit reached a 13-month low of 4.43 against the dollar. It has shed more than 5 percent since Trump's election on Nov. 8.

On Saturday, BNM warned of "prompt supervisory intervention" against any individuals or banks engaged in ringgit trade in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market

In the third quarter, Malaysia reversed a trend of slowing economic growth, reporting better-than-expected annual expansion of 4.3 percent.