JN Monetary Policy Statement

The Bank of Japan on Thursday held its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.25%, opting to take the time to assess the impact of financial and foreign exchange markets on Japan’s economic activity and prices. The yen weakened 0.3% against the dollar after the rate decision, trading at 155.42 and hitting a one-month low. Meanwhile, the country’s stock indexes pared gains, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 down 0.74% compared to the 0.96% loss before the announcement. The decision to hold rates surprised economists polled by Reuters, who ...

The Bank of Japan is set to discuss whether or not an interest rate hike is warranted on Thursday, with views from officials suggesting a lean toward a hold amid growing market speculation of a January move. Governor Kazuo Ueda’s board is expected to leave its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.25% at the end of a two-day meeting, according to traders’ views reflected in the latest overnight-indexed-swap rates. More than half of economists now predict a rate hike in January while 44% still see it coming this week, according to this ...

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is likely to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged this week as it awaits greater clarity on domestic wages and spending trends as well as policy changes by the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, according to a survey of economists polled by CNBC. A slim majority of 13 out of 24 economists, or 54%, said BOJ is likely to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.25% at the end of its two-day meeting on Thursday. The same number of economists expect the Japanese central bank ...

The Bank of Japan is expected to maintain ultra-low interest rates on Thursday and signal a cautious approach to rolling back its massive monetary stimulus, as political uncertainty and jittery markets cloud the outlook. The ruling coalition's loss of a majority in a weekend election has heightened concerns about policy paralysis, raising the hurdle for additional rate hikes, analysts say. The BOJ is likely in no rush to push up borrowing costs with inflation showing few signs of spiking and Japan's economic recovery fragile. But ...

video The Federal Reserve’s surprise decision in September to cut rates by a larger-than-expected 50-basis-points seems like a distant memory now, as policymakers are once again sending out hawkish soundbites. US economic indicators since the September meeting have been on the strong side, including the CPI report, with Fed officials cautioning that another 50-bps cut is unlikely in the near term. The sudden switch in the narrative from ‘hard landing’ to ‘soft landing’, or possibly even a ‘no landing’, has spurred a sharp reversal ...