An international research house says it expects household spending in Malaysia to remain strong in 2025 thanks to manageable inflation.
BMI Country Risk & Industry Research (BMI), a unit of Fitch Solutions, today said it expects household spending to grow 3.8% this year to RM930.7 billion, up from RM896.9 billion in 2024.
“However, spending will remain constrained by high consumer indebtedness and elevated debt servicing costs,” it said.
BMI also expects Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to keep its overnight policy rate (OPR) unchanged at 2.75% after its next monetary policy committee meeting on Thursday.
The research house said inflation had remained broadly stable at 1.2% since the committee last met in July – low enough for the central bank to maintain its current stance.
BMI likewise expects household spending to grow 5% to RM977.3 billion in 2026, supported by strong gross domestic product growth and a stable employment outlook.
It said consumer confidence and willingness to spend would be further underpinned by a stable inflationary environment and a shift in BNM’s stance towards monetary easing.
BMI also forecast a 25 basis points cut in the OPR from 2.75% in December to 2.50% by the end of next year.
