The Bank of Japan signals subtly, avoiding commitments to raise interest rates before the April meeting

ME News message, April 6 (UTC+8), the Bank of Japan, in two quarterly regional economic reports, avoided fueling market expectations for a rate hike later this month by sending highly subtle signals through those reports. In another press release summarizing the views of branch managers, the Bank of Japan said that looking ahead, with uncertainty increasing, there are concerns about rising prices—especially energy prices—and their negative impact on corporate profits and private consumption. These remarks indicate that the Bank of Japan is unwilling to commit to a rate hike with three weeks remaining until its next rate decision on April 28. Based on overnight swap market pricing, as of Monday, traders assessed the odds of a rate hike this month at about 66%, because the Iran war could pose greater upside inflation risks for Japan at a time when inflation is already staying elevated. The Bank of Japan also said that many reports indicate that companies continue to pass on rising costs such as labor and logistics expenses to selling prices. At the same time, companies are continuing to cope with consumers’ inflation fatigue by limiting the magnitude of price increases and strengthening their lineup of low-priced products. (Jin10) (Source: ODAILY)