BOJ governor, Kazuo Ueda, is speaking in Tokyo and there doesn't seem to be any major surprises in his remarks. The message remains quite clear that the central bank still sees room to raise interest rates further.
Here are some of the key comments from Ueda:
The one that catches my attention is the first one, with Ueda once again saying that underlying inflation is approaching the BOJ's 2% mark.
That fits neatly with the report earlier today that the BOJ may go one step further in its October outlook and signal that underlying inflation has effectively reached the 2% target. On its own, that would be more symbolic than an immediate trigger for another rate hike. But taken together with Ueda's comments above, it continues to build the case that the BOJ might very well tighten policy again in December.
Besides that, Ueda is still describing financial conditions as being accommodative and that tells us the BOJ doesn't view the latest rate hike as particularly restrictive for the economy.
Having said that, it doesn't necessarily mean another rate hike is coming at the October meeting. Policymakers are still cautious of moving in back-to-back meetings, with the earlier report suggesting that they might not want to move too aggressively just yet.
December will be a different story though.
Market pricing is currently showing a roughly 64% chance of another rate hike by December and if the October outlook formally acknowledges that underlying inflation has reached 2%, then the hurdle for another rate hike becomes easier to clear.
In any case, Ueda's comments continue to reinforce the main point that rates are still likely heading higher. The bigger question is how quickly the BOJ wants to get there.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.
Source: Investing Live - Central Bank
