Analysts, banks foresee potentially bumpy 2026 due to US tariffs, policy uncertainty

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — RHB Investment Bank Bhd (RHB IB) has maintained its 2025 gross domestic product (GDP) forecast at 4.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY), despite Malaysia’s first quarter 2025 (1Q 2025) GDP growth data coming in slightly lower than expected at 4.4 per cent.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors is optimistic that Malaysia's 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) will exceed the advance estimate of 5.1 per cent announced today by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to remain resilient at 4.5 per cent in 2025 compared to 5.2 per cent in 2024, driven by strong export performance and sustained domestic demand, said OCBC senior Asean economist Lavanya Venkateswaran.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — Economists are forecasting Malaysia’s headline inflation for 2024 to be between 2.5 per cent and 3.3 per cent.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — OCBC Bank sees no change in Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) monetary policy stance for the rest of 2023 and into 2024 despite the lower-than-expected 2.9 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth recorded in the second quarter (2Q).

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — OCBC Bank has maintained its 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast of 4.4 per cent for Malaysia, implying weaker growth for the rest of the year but still within Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) four per cent to five per cent forecast range.