Lee Bok-hyun Presides Over Financial Situation Review Meeting
Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, stated on the 24th regarding the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike, "Currently, the interest rate gap between the US and Japan is widening, and the yen is weak, so the incentive to unwind yen carry trades is low."
At the 'Financial Situation Review Meeting' held at the Financial Supervisory Service in Yeouido, Seoul, Governor Lee said, "Comparing the current financial situation to July of last year, the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike is the same, but last year, the US-Japan interest rate gap was narrowing and the yen was strong."
On the same day, the BOJ decided at the Monetary Policy Meeting to raise the short-term policy interest rate, the benchmark rate, from the current "around 0.25%" to "around 0.5%."
Governor Lee emphasized, "Last year, market shocks occurred as concerns about a recession emerged following the deterioration of US employment indicators announced immediately after the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike, so it is necessary to closely monitor changes in external conditions going forward."
He added, "During the Lunar New Year holiday, global market volatility may increase depending on the Federal Reserve (Fed) and European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decisions and US inflation data releases," urging, "Please maintain a readiness posture to respond at any time."
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