Japan Week Ahead: BOJ Policymakers Set for More Rate Hikes While Prime Minister Takaichi in Rough Seas Seeking Temporary Sales Tax Cut on Food
–September Trade Data to Show Resilient Exports, Consumer Inflation Seen Rising Above BOJ’s 2% Target By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The Bank of Japan is on course toward lifting the short-term interest rate further to ensure it is clearly in a neutral zone – its original aim under the normalization process launched three years ago […]
Japan Week Ahead: BOJ Policymakers to Digest More Q3 Data Before Their Oct. 29-30 Meeting; Board Widely Expected to Hold Rates Steady Until December or January
–September Producer Inflation Forecast to Remain Elevated Above 7%, August Machinery Orders Expected to Rebound amid Solid Capex Demand By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Ahead of their Oct. 29-30 meeting, Bank of Japan policymakers will get to see more data for the third quarter that is set to show resilient exports and elevated costs for […]
Japan Week Ahead: Tokyo CPI Data Expected to See Signs of Growing Upside Risks to Inflation, AI Projects Boon for Factory Output but Damper for Consumers
–BOJ Tankan Survey to Show AI Boom Lifting Manufacturer Sentiment, High Costs Making Services Sector Slightly Less Confident By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Behind the Bank of Japan’s accelerated pace of interest rate increases this month were creeping upside risks to inflation as the lingering Iran war and the stubbornly weak yen threaten to keep […]
Japan Week Ahead: Forex Trading in Holiday Week Seen Choppy, Cautious amid Signs MOF Ready to Intervene to Prop Up Yen After BOJ Rate Hike Did Little to Help
–Data Calendar Thin Until Sept. 28 Week When BOJ’s Tankan Survey Set to Show Manufacturer Sentiment Improved Sharply in Q3 on Global AI Boom By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The coming week is quieter on the economic policy and data fronts after the Bank of Japan followed up on its June rate hike on Friday […]
Bank of Japan Hikes Policy Interest Rate to 1.25% from 1% in 7 to 2 Vote, Repeats It Will Continue to Raise Rate as Part of Normalization
By Max Sato –BOJ Points to Upside Risks to its Inflation Outlook, Notes Financial Conditions Expected to Remain Supportive to Economic Activity (MaceNews) – The Bank of Japan’s nine-member board on Friday decided to raise the target for the overnight interest rate to 1.25% from 1% in a 7 to 2 vote, warning that elevated […]
Japan Week Ahead: BOJ Set to Raise Policy Rate to 1.25% from 1% at Sept. 17-18 Meeting, Markets Eye Another Hike in December or January
–August Exports to Continue Showing Resilience, July Machinery Orders to Dip After Sharp Rebound, August CPI Seen Steady to Slightly Up around BOJ’s 2% Target By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Official comments and economic data suggest that it is both necessary and safe to accelerate the pace of the Bank of Japan’s normalization rate hikes, […]
Japan Week Ahead: BOJ Governor Ueda Repeats Board Will Have Serious Debate on Need for Follow-Up Rate Hike This Month
–Q2 GDP to Be Revised Up Slightly, August Producer Inflation to Show Elevated Costs By Max Sato (MaceNews) – About two weeks before the Bank of Japan’s next policy meeting on Sept. 17-18, Governor Kazuo Ueda sent out a cautious but suggestive message to the markets that he and his colleagues will have a serious […]
Japan Week Ahead: July Data to Show Mixed Start to Q3 after BOJ Deputy Governor Himino Downplays Weak Q2 GDP Growth, Keeps September Rate Hike Talk Alive
–July Factory Output to Show Pullback After Recent Gains, Heat Wave Props Up Retail Sales, Sluggish Household Spending Continues amid High Costs By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Financial markets have largely priced in a follow-up interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan in September, with only a three-month interval instead of an earlier expectation […]
Japan Week Ahead: Markets Seek Hints from BOJ Deputy Governor Himino’s Speech on Board Concerns About Upside Inflation Risks amid Weak Q2 GDP Growth
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Market participants are looking for any clues to whether the Bank of Japan board is getting closer to raising interest rates further in September, instead of waiting until October, when the board updates its economic projections and risk analysis in the quarterly Outlook Report. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda clearly indicated […]
Japan Week Ahead: Inflationary Pressures Growing amid Weak Yen, Measured BOJ Tightening Pace, Prompting Some Economists to Point to an Early September Rate Hike
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Upward pressures on both producer and consumer prices are mounting in Japan when only about five years ago policymakers dreamt about seeing the annual inflation rate overshoot the Bank of Japan’s 2% target from around zero. When BOJ board members left the policy interest rate unchanged at 1% at the […]