Confirming the expectations of all 41 economists, The Bank of Japan changed absolutely nothing about its monetary policy tonight following The Fed’s 3rd rate hike in 11 years. The BOJ said in a statement that it would keep the two key rates at current levels, maintain…
Confirming the expectations of all 41 economists, The Bank of Japan changed absolutely nothing about its monetary policy tonight following The Fed’s 3rd rate hike in 11 years. The BOJ said in a statement that it would keep the two key rates at current levels, maintain the pace of its asset purchases, and did not change its economic outlook.
The BOJ maintained its short-term policy rate on some bank reserves at -0.1 percent and…
left its target for 10-year government bond yields at around 0 percent.
It kept the pace of its asset purchases unchanged at about 80 trillion yen ($700 billion) annually.
As Bloomberg reports, with the economy slowly improving and bond yields under control, the BOJ is in position to hold steady for now. But with the Fed rate hike putting upward pressure on yields globally, some economists are looking for signs the BOJ may have to raise its rate targets, particularly if inflation begins to take hold in Japan. “There’s no reason for the BOJ to act now, » Hiroshi Ugai, a former BOJ official and chief Japan economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said before Thursday’s decision. “The bank will take the U. S. rate hike as good news. What I’m looking for now is any hint of its willingness to raise rates in the future.
