BOJ to forgo another rate hike by year-end, say slim majority of economists
reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/econ-polls?RIC=JPGDPQP GDP poll data
reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/econ-polls?RIC=JPCPIQP core CPI poll data
reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/cb-polls?RIC=JPONCQP BOJ overnight call rate poll data
By Satoshi Sugiyama
TOKYO, Oct 15 (Reuters) -The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will forgo raising interest rates again this year, according to a very slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll, although nearly 90% still expect rates to rise by end-March.
The findings, published Tuesday, underscore the BOJ's challenge in proceeding with policy normalisation when most of its global peers are tilting towards rate cuts and amid uncertainty over the new political leadership's preference for monetary settings.
Just over half of economists, 25 of 49, in the Oct. 3-11 poll said the BOJ would stick to the current 0.25% rate through end-December. That was also the median forecast, down from 0.50%.
Results in the previous poll in September were also close, with 46% expecting no change.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took office on Oct. 1, moved markets the next day when he said the economy was not ready for further rate hikes. That was an apparent about-face from his previous support for the BOJ in its early stages of unwinding decades of extreme monetary stimulus.
"It's difficult for the Bank of Japan to boldly ignore the prime minister's personal opinion," said Chiyuki Takamatsu, chief economist at Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance.
Still, 87% of economists, or 39 of 45, said the BOJ would raise rates to 0.50% by end-March. Another three who had predicted a rate hike to 0.50% by year-end expected the rate to be 0.75% by the end of the first quarter.
"It's unlikely the BOJ will raise interest rates again after the lower house election and before the budget for the next fiscal year is drawn up in late December," said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at Daiwa Securities.
"There is also a growing momentum for wage increases next year, and if the U.S. economy continues to be resilient, we believe the conditions for a rate hike will be in place by the time the BOJ's quarterly outlook report is released in January."
Iwashita said the BOJ could push back its decision to March if it wants to see the feasibility of the new U.S. administration's policy and the situation in the annual springtime wage negotiations.
Among a smaller sample of 18 economists who predicted higher rates by year-end and who also provided a forecast for a specific month when the BOJ will next move, only one did not forecast December.
Of another 19 economists who provided monthly forecasts and anticipated either a rate hike next year or no further increase at all, almost three-quarters, or 14, chose January. That was up from 60% in September's poll.
The BOJ ended negative rates in March and raised short-term borrowing costs to 0.25% in July on the view Japan was making progress towards durably achieving 2% inflation.
Japan's economy expanded an annualised 2.9% in the second quarter as steady wage hikes underpinned consumer spending.
Capital expenditure continues to grow, though soft demand in China and slowing U.S. growth indicate a solid recovery for the export-reliant country could be some way off.
Close to three-quarters of economists surveyed, 21 of 29, said it was too early to make a judgement on Ishiba's economic policy.
(Other stories from the Reuters global economic poll)
Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Polling by Rahul Trivedi and Susobhan Sarkar; Editing by Jonathan Cable, Ross Finley and Sam Holmes
免責聲明: XM Group提供線上交易平台的登入和執行服務，允許個人查看和/或使用網站所提供的內容，但不進行任何更改或擴展其服務和訪問權限，並受以下條款與條例約束：（i）條款與條例；（ii）風險提示；（iii）完全免責聲明。網站內部所提供的所有資訊，僅限於一般資訊用途。請注意，我們所有的線上交易平台內容並不構成，也不被視為進入金融市場交易的邀約或邀請 。金融市場交易會對您的投資帶來重大風險。
所有缐上交易平台所發佈的資料，僅適用於教育/資訊類用途，不包含也不應被視爲適用於金融、投資稅或交易相關諮詢和建議，或是交易價格紀錄，或是任何金融商品或非應邀途徑的金融相關優惠的交易邀約或邀請。
本網站的所有XM和第三方所提供的内容，包括意見、新聞、研究、分析、價格其他資訊和第三方網站鏈接，皆爲‘按原狀’，並作爲一般市場評論所提供，而非投資建議。請理解和接受，所有被歸類為投資研究範圍的相關内容，並非爲了促進投資研究獨立性，而根據法律要求所編寫，而是被視爲符合營銷傳播相關法律與法規所編寫的内容。請確保您已詳讀並完全理解我們的非獨立投資研究提示和風險提示資訊，相關詳情請點擊 這裡查看。
