Bank of Japan Deputy Governor: "No Set Timing for Rate Hike... Carefully Evaluating Data"

BOJ Deputy Governor Himino Ryozo stated that the timing of interest rate hikes is not fixed.

Bank of Japan (BOJ)
Photo by Yonhap News

According to Japanese media such as Kyodo News and local public broadcaster NHK on the 10th, Deputy Governor Himino said regarding the timing of interest rate hikes, "We need to carefully evaluate future data and outlooks, so the course is not set from the beginning."

He explained, "In future monetary policy decisions, factors such as U.S. employment and consumption, Chinese consumption, and next year's Japanese wage negotiations are likely to be important considerations," adding, "Since this list also changes, it is necessary to look at the overall picture of the data."

Earlier, BOJ Governor Ueda Kazuo stated in a lecture on the 24th of last month that "If the underlying inflation rate rises as expected, it would be appropriate to implement additional interest rate hikes."

However, he indicated that after reviewing various indicators, the BOJ would raise rates, saying, "It is important to observe how the Japanese economy, which has experienced a long period of low interest rates, responds to rate hikes along with trends in the U.S. economy and unstable financial capital markets."

The Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy by raising the benchmark rate in March this year. It then raised the rate again in July from 0?0.1% to 0.25%.