The Bank of Japan will hike rates for the first time since 2017 on Tuesday, according to Nikkei.
“The Bank of Japan is expected to end its negative interest rates when its policy board meets on Monday and Tuesday, Nikkei has learned.”
They report that the BOJ began coordinating both within and outside the BOJ on Friday to end the policy. Rather than just hiking to 0.00%, as assumed, the BOJ will hike to a range in the 0.00-0.10% range.
The final piece of the puzzle appears to be the latest wage numbers, something we’ve been highlighting.
This year’s wage hikes “are of a level that even reflationists who are cautious about modifying monetary policy would accept a change in policy,” according to a BOJ source.
There has been minimal market reaction to this report, which suggests that the moves are already priced in.
The moves will also end yield curve control and scrap purchases of ETFs and REITs.
USD/JPY last traded at 149.05, up 73 pips today and unchanged since this report.
