The yen strengthened and Japanese government bond yields rose to fresh multi-year highs on Friday after the Bank of Japan hiked interest rates as expected and raised its inflation forecasts.
Hence, some follow-through weakness below the 154.00 mark, towards retesting a multi-week low around the 153.70 region touched on Monday, looks like a distinct possibility. On the flip side, attempted recovery might now confront resistance near the 155.
The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis and revised up its inflation forecasts, underscoring its confidence that rising wages will keep inflation stable around its 2% target.
The Japanese yen is slightly lower on Thursday. In the European session, USD/JPY is trading at 156.25, down 0.16% on the day.
The Bank of Japan hiked interest rates to 0.5%, the highest level since October 2008, and pledged to raise rates further if the economy and inflation continue in line with projections. The bank’s pledge to seek more rate hikes sent Japanese government bond yields higher and boosted the yen.
In the eyes of Japanese economic policymakers, there have been few surprises from the nearly week-old Trump administration. That, in part, gave them confidence to raise interest rates again Friday. Why it matters: The Bank of Japan had held off hiking rates late last year,
A weaker yen is typically good for Japanese exporters but could push inflation higher because the country imports much of its energy and food. The Bank of Japankicked off a global market selloff last time it raised interest rates. The likely rate increase this week will be less dramatic, but the real suspense lies in what comes next for the yen.
Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group reported a 54 per cent increase in third-quarter net profit on Wednesday, buoyed by a boost in interest income.The net profit rose to 410.8 billion yen ($2.65 billion) in the October-December period,
The move comes in line with expectations from CNBC’s survey, where an overwhelming majority of economists predicted a hike.
The Bank of Japan hiked interest rates on Friday to their highest level in 17 years and signalled more were in the pipeline despite fears of turmoil under US President Donald Trump.
The Bank of Japan has raised short-term interest rates by a quarter point, the highest in 17 years, signalling efforts to normalise monetary policy in response to persistent inflation and increasing wages.
In a widely anticipated move, the Bank of Japan on Jan. 24 raised its short-term policy rate to 0.50% from 0.25%. Read more here.