The statement from the Bank of Japan is expected on Friday. As always, there is no scheduled release time, with a reasonable wait between 02:30 and 03:30 GMT (10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. US Eastern Time on Thursday).
Bank of Japan Governor Ueda will speak shortly after, starting at 06:30 GMT (02:30 US Eastern Time).
Reuters points out that in September 2022, Japan intervened to support the yen after it fell following post-meeting remarks by former BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, emphasizing the bank’s determination to maintain an ultra-low policy. -flexible. This will be a priority for Ueda who will not want to make comments that could be misinterpreted by the markets. In fact, he might go out of his way to appear more hawkish than usual. We will see. Also at issue is whether the BoJ will leave unchanged the guidance it proposed in March, namely continuing to buy government bonds around the current pace of 6 trillion yen per month.
The BoJ is expected to keep interest rates unchanged. It also forecasts that inflation will remain close to its 2% target in the coming years thanks to the prospects of regular wage increases.
Former BoJ official Nobuyasu Atago said:
- “The BoJ will not raise rates just to prevent a fall in the yen,”
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“But Ueda could repeat his recent comment that the BOJ would react if movements in the yen had a material impact on the economy and prices. If this leaves markets guessing that the timing of a rate hike could be brought forward, it would be a real illusion.”
Reuters adds political considerations:
- However, there appears to be no consensus within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on whether now is the time for currency intervention. Japan’s ruling party has not yet engaged in active discussions about what levels of the yen would warrant market intervention, although the currency’s fall toward 160 to the dollar could prompt policymakers to act, said party leader Takao Ochi told Reuters.
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Earlier:
cnbctv18-forexlive
