SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday in a widely expected move, reflecting its growing optimism that wages will continue to rise and keep inflation sustainably around its 2% target.
The board decided to raise the BOJ’s short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25% by a vote of 8 to 1. Board member Toyoaki Nakamura disagreed with the decision.
QUOTES:
NAOYA HASEGAWA, CHIEF BOND STRATEGIST AT OKASAN SECURITIES, TOKYO
“The decision was in line with our expectations. We look forward to BOJ Governor (Kazuo) Ueda’s comments at his post-meeting press conference. We want to know his outlook for the future path of rates, rather than why the BOJ raised rates at this meeting. The market now expects the BOJ to raise rates every six months, so we want to know Ueda’s opinion on this.”