BoJ Chief Says Future Rate Decisions Will Be Data Dependent

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the future interest rate decisions will be data-dependent and avoided giving clear idea about the timing of the next rate hike.

At each monetary policy meeting, the BoJ will make policy decisions based on its assessment of economic activity and prices with the data and information available at the time of each meeting, Ueda told business leaders in Nagoya. "The actual timing of the adjustments will continue to depend on developments in economic activity and prices as well as financial conditions going forward," he said. Ueda said the bank will pay due attention to various risk factors, such as the course of overseas economies, especially the US economy and developments in financial and capital markets.

He avoided giving clear idea about the timing of the next interest rate hike. Markets expect a quarter-point increase at the next meeting in December.

At the October meeting, the board had maintained the key rate at around 0.25 percent, which was the highest since late 2008.

The BoJ had ended its negative interest rate policy in March and last lifted the benchmark rate in July to the current level.

Core inflation is forecast to be around 2 percent for the fiscal 2025 and 2026. The governor today said he expects inflationary pressures stemming from wage increases to strengthen as an improvement in economic activity and solid wage growth continue.