The Wall Street Journal

Japan’s Central Bank Holds Rates as Uncertainties Complicate Outlook

Its target for the overnight call rate has been at 0.25% since July

Thursday’s decision wasn’t unanimous, with one of the Japanese central bank’s nine policy board members, Naoki Tamura, proposing a rate hike to 0.5%.
Thursday’s decision wasn’t unanimous, with one of the Japanese central bank’s nine policy board members, Naoki Tamura, proposing a rate hike to 0.5%. Photo: toru hanai/Reuters

TOKYO—The Bank of Japan held its policy rate steady as it waits for uncertainties in the U.S. to clear and for more evidence of wage growth at home, but expectations of rate hikes on the horizon remain intact.

The Japanese central bank on Thursday maintained its target for the overnight call rate at 0.25%, the level it has been at since the last hike in July, when the yen’s weakness triggered fears over higher import prices.

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