The Bank of Japan (BoJ) maintained its key short-term interest rate at -0.1% and that of 10-year bond yields at around 0% in a final meeting of the year by unanimous vote, as widely expected. The central bank also left unchanged a loose upper band of 1.0% set for the long-term government bond yield. The board said that it will patiently continue with monetary easing amid extremely high uncertainties at home and abroad. It also mentioned that policymakers will respond to development in economic activity and prices as well as financial conditions. By doing so, the BoJ aims to achieve a price stability target of 2% in a sustainable manner, accompanied by wage increases. The committee reiterated that it will not hesitate to take extra easing measures if needed.
The Bank of Japan kept its key short-term interest rate unchanged at -0.1% and that of 10-year bond yields at around 0% during its January meeting, as expected. Meanwhile, in a quarterly outlook, the BoJ slashed CPI readings for FY 2024 to 2.4% from October's projections of 2.8%, reflecting a recent decline in oil prices. For 2025, the board said that it expects core inflation to hit 1.8%, slightly higher than its earlier estimates of 1.7%. Policymakers also cut their 2023 GDP growth forecast to 1.8% from 2.0%. For FY 2024, the bank revised higher its GDP outlook to 1.2% from 1.0%, supported by pent-up demand. After the decision, BoJ Governor Ueda commented that any potential rate hike would initially seek to maintain BOJ policy in support of the economy and would strive to minimize disruptions. Expanding on the newly incorporated language in the central bank's quarterly outlook report, the governor noted that the confidence in achieving the BOJ's projections has steadily grown.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its key short-term interest rate to around 0% to 0.1% from -0.1% in March 2024, matching market expectations and halting its eight years of negative interest rates. It is the first interest rate hike since 2007, as inflation had exceeded the central bank's 2% target in over a year while the largest companies in the country had agreed to raise salaries by 5.28%, the biggest wage hike in over three decades.
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The Bank of Japan kept its key short-term interest rate unchanged at around 0% to 0.1% at its April meeting, as widely expected, after delivering the first rate hike since 2007 and ending its eight years of negative rates in March. The central bank also said it will continue to conduct bond purchases, in line with the March decision. Friday's statement scrapped a reference that the BoJ had purchased about JPY 6 trillion per month in the past. In a quarterly outlook, the committee revised higher CPI prints for FY 2024 to 2.8% from January's projections of 2.4%, due to the waning effects of higher import prices and fewer government support measures. For 2025, the board expects core inflation to hit 1.9%, slightly higher than its earlier estimates of 1.8%, reflecting a recent rise in oil prices. On the GDP front, policymakers cut their 2023 growth forecast to 1.3% from 1.8%. For FY 2024, the bank also slashed its GDP outlook to 0.8% from 1.2%, mainly reflecting lower private consumption.
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