No, Bank of Japan is NOT done hiking interest rates
Share link:In this post: The Bank of Japan isn’t done hiking interest rates and is ready to tighten further if the economic outlook stays strong. Governor Ueda confirmed that more rate hikes could come if inflation and growth meet their expectations, causing the yen to strengthen against the dollar. While Japan’s yen carry trade is collapsing due to the stronger yen, the yuan carry trade might survive thanks to China’s looser monetary policies.
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) isn’t letting up on its fight against inflation anytime soon. In a move that surprised no one paying attention, Governor Kazuo Ueda recently doubled down on his decision, saying that more interest rate hikes are definitely on the table.
“There is no change to our basic stance of adjusting the level of monetary easing going forward if we can confirm that the outlook for the economy and prices is more likely to realize as we expect.”
The markets heard this comment loud and clear. His words pushed the yen up against the dollar, with the yen hitting 145.30 during Tokyo trading, a big jump from the 146.30 it was sitting at before Ueda opened his mouth.
The takeaway? The BOJ is ready to pull the trigger on more rate hikes if needed.
Let’s not forget that this is all happening after the BOJ raised its policy rate target to 0.25% back in July. Before that, the rate was basically nonexistent, stuck in a range of 0% to 0.1%.
It was the first time Japan had lifted rates since it gave up on its negative-rate policy, which had been the only one of its kind in the world. Japan’s been taking baby steps away from this ultra-loose monetary stance, but now, it seems like they’re ready to walk a little faster.
But hold up. Not everyone at the BOJ is trigger-happy.
Earlier this month, when fears of a U.S. recession and other global economic headwinds were causing market chaos, Shinichi Uchida, deputy governor at the BOJ, said that the bank would hit the brakes on any rate hikes if markets went into meltdown mode.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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