Bank of Japan Meeting Minutes Suggest Possibility of Rate Hike in December

BlockBeats News, November 10th: The latest policy meeting minutes from the Bank of Japan showed that the next interest rate hike could be implemented as early as December, in line with the expectations of many market participants. At the two-day policy meeting that ended on October 30th, the Bank of Japan's board voted 7-2 to keep the current interest rate unchanged.

The minutes of the meeting indicated that one board member noted that the "conditions for further promoting policy rate normalization are likely to have been largely met," while emphasizing the need to examine potential inflation trends. This minutes show that the nine-member Bank of Japan board is increasingly inclined to believe that the timing of the next interest rate hike is approaching, consistent with Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's recent statement that action "may be taken in the coming months."

With almost all market observers expecting the bank to raise borrowing costs no later than January next year, the focus has shifted to whether the timing of the rate hike will be on December 19th or in January next year. (Kyi)