Malaysian money supply growth eases to 4.3%

Its central bank's net short forex positions dropped for two months.

Malaysia's money supply growth eased to 4.3% YoY in June, 4 points lower than May's rate of 4.7%.

In a report by Maybank, the growth was spurred by increased credit, deposits, and external reserves. Bank Negra Malaysia's (BNM) net short FX positions, however, dropped for the second consecutive month.

The banking system's total increased by 5.7%. Non-household loans grew 6.5% whilst household loans dipped 5.0%.

The 6.3% rise in loans for non-SME businesses underpinned growth for non-household loans.

Lending for transport, storage and communications soared by 20.1%, whilst construction loans rose by 10.6%.

Growth for private sector financing also remained at the double digits at 11.8%.

Electricity, gas, and water mainly drove corporate bond issuances by US$490.2m (MYR2.1b), followed by financial services and real estate by US $326.8m (MYR1.4b), and construction by US$233.5m (MYR1b).