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 […]
Japan Week Ahead: BOJ on Hold Amid Mideast Conflict, US Trade Uncertainty, While Pointing to Need to Raise Policy Rate Further to Neutral Level
–July Tokyo CPI Seen Ticking Up Closer to BOJ’s 2% Target as Iran War Has Boosted Prices, Import Costs High on Yen’s Slide to Nearly Four-Decade Low–June Factory Output to Pose 3rd Straight Rise amid Global Demand for Computer Chips, Non-Ferrous Metals, Easing Impact of US Tariffs on Autos By Max Sato (MaceNews) – The […]
Japan Week Ahead: Resilient Economy Faces Inflationary Pressures, Structural Fragility as Mideast Conflict Rages on, Weak Yen Keeps Imports Expensive
–June Exports Forecast to Post 10th Straight Y/Y Rise, CPI Seen Up Slightly but Still Below BOJ’s 2% Inflation Target By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s economy has shown resilience in the face of protectionist U.S. trade policy and the lingering Mideast conflict. Exports have weathered the drag from stiff Trump tariffs on autos and […]