SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday in a widely expected move, reflecting its growing optimism that wages will continue to rise and keep inflation sustainable around the 2% target.
The Board of Directors decided to increase the short-term interest rate of the BOJ to 0.5% from 0.25% by an 8-1 vote. Board member Toyoaki Nakamura disagreed with the decision.
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NAOYA HASEGAWA, CHIEF BONDS STRATEGIST AT OKASAN SECURITIES, TOKYO
“The decision was in line with our expectations. We await comments from BOJ Governor (Kazuo) Uedo at his post-meeting press conference. We want to know his outlook for the future course of the exchange rate, not why the BOJ raised rates at this meeting. The market now expects that the BOJ raises rates every six months, so we want to know Ueda’s position on that.”
