Malaysia: central bank cuts key interest rate to 2 pct

Malaysia's central bank cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 2 percent on May 5, its lowest since 2009, to help the country’s economy weather the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wednesday, May 06, 2020 10:47

Malaysia: central bank cuts key interest rate to 2 pct ảnh 1

Illustrative image (Photo: https://www.nst.com.my/)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Malaysia's central bank cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to2 percent on May 5, its lowest since 2009, to help the country’s economyweather the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move came a day after the Malaysian government allowed most businesses to resumeoperation after six weeks of closure.

The country, along with other regional nations, is loosening monetary policydue to impacts of the epidemic, which forced enterprises to suspend their businessand people to stay home.

Malaysia reported 6,383 cases of COVID-19, including 106 deaths, as of May 5.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said restriction measures to containthe spread of the disease have caused an economic loss of about 14.6 billionUSD for the country.

The Malaysian government has announced economic stimulus packages worthbillions of USD to reduce the impact of the epidemic, including tax breaks andcash aid for locals./.

VNA

#COVID-19 #central bank #Malaysia #regional nations #key interest rate #monetary policy #restriction measures #Vietnamplus #Vietnam News #Vietnam News Agency

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