BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda signaled that a March or April rate hike remains on the table, stating in a Yomiuri interview that the central bank will continue raising interest rates if economic and price projections evolve as expected. “We will hold a policy meeting in March and April, so we would like to reach a decision by scrutinising data available by then,” he said.
Additionally, Ueda noted that the BOJ does not necessarily need to wait for the quarterly Tankan survey release on April 1 to act, as it relies on a range of business and economic indicators. He also also rejected suggestions that the BOJ is behind the curve on inflation, arguing that underlying price pressures have yet to fully reach the 2% target.
Markets had earlier pared back expectations for a near-term hike after reports that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed reservations about further rate increases. Ueda’s remarks appear to have recalibrated those bets, bringing March and April back into active consideration as the BoJ weighs the impact of December’s hike on lending, investment, and consumption.
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