The Bank of Japan raised interest rates as scheduled, and the market's focus shifts to Kazuo Ueda's speech
On Friday, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates by 25 basis points as expected, increasing the policy benchmark rate to 0.5%. This marks the third interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan in less than a year, pushing the policy benchmark rate to its highest level since 2008. The market is currently focused on whether Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will provide any hints about future rate hikes at this afternoon's press conference. Following the announcement of the rate hike, the USD/JPY exchange rate fell by 0.33%, trading at 1 USD to 155.54 JPY as of the time of writing. The decision to raise rates by the Bank of Japan is good news for the yen, which has been weakening recently. The yen has been under pressure due to the significant interest rate gap between the U.S. and Japan. However, the Federal Reserve has indicated that it will slow down the pace of rate cuts this year, which may help alleviate the pressure on the yen. Ahead of this policy meeting, Bank of Japan policymakers had sent clear signals indicating that a rate hike would occur at this meeting to guide market expectations. The unexpected rate hike by the Bank of Japan last July triggered a historic plunge in the Japanese stock market, leading to turmoil in global markets and fierce criticism of its communication approach
According to Zhitong Finance APP, on Friday, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates by 25 basis points as expected, increasing the policy benchmark rate to 0.5%. This marks the third interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan in less than a year, pushing the policy benchmark rate to its highest level since 2008. The market is currently focused on whether Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will provide any hints about future rate hikes at the press conference this afternoon.
Following the Bank of Japan's announcement of the rate hike, as of the time of writing, the USD/JPY exchange rate fell by 0.33%, trading at 1 USD to 155.54 JPY.
The Bank of Japan's decision to raise interest rates is good news for the yen, which has been weakening recently. The yen has been under pressure due to the significant interest rate differential between the U.S. and Japan. However, the Federal Reserve has indicated that it will slow down the pace of rate cuts this year, which may help alleviate the pressure on the yen.
Before this policy meeting, Bank of Japan policymakers had sent clear signals indicating that a rate hike would occur at this meeting to guide market expectations. The unexpected rate hike by the Bank of Japan last July triggered a historic plunge in the Japanese stock market, leading to turmoil in global markets and fierce criticism of its communication methods