Overview
- Minutes from the Bank of Japan’s January meeting show a bias toward more rate increases and a meeting-by-meeting approach rather than a preset path.
- One policymaker urged carrying out the next hike without missing the right timing, calling the fight against rising prices an urgent priority.
- Another member said raising rates every few months could be appropriate if conditions allow, citing a weaker yen and firmer inflation expectations.
- Officials judged financial conditions still loose, noting underlying inflation is edging toward the 2% target and real interest rates remain low.
- Oil prices jumped after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, pushing up Japan’s import costs and weakening the yen, and the BOJ left rates unchanged at its most recent meeting to gauge the impact.