SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis, underscoring its confidence that rising wages will keep inflation stably around its 2% target.
The board decided to raise the BOJ’s short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25% by an 8-1 vote. Board member Toyoaki Nakamura dissented to the decision.
QUOTES:
NAOYA HASEGAWA, CHIEF BOND STRATEGIST AT OKASAN SECURITIES, TOKYO
“The decision was in line with our expectations. We await comments from BOJ Governor (Kazuo) Ueda at his post-meeting news conference. We want to know his outlook for the future rate path, rather than why the BOJ raised rates at this meeting. The market now expects that the BOJ raises rates every six months so we want to know Ueda’s view on that.”
MATT SIMPSON, SENIOR MARKET ANALYST, CITY INDEX, BRISBANE
“The hike may have been expected but in what feels like the first time in a very long…
