The yen fell against the dollar on Monday after a report indicated the Bank of Japan was unlikely to exit its negative interest rate policy at the last meeting of 2023.
Central bank officials are waiting for more proof of sustained inflation and signs of wage growth before halting that decades-long policy, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. They said a final decision will be made by officials after a review of data between now and that meeting date, including financial market conditions and the quarterly tankan survey of economic conditions due Wednesday.
That may mean the Dec. 19 meeting will disappoint those who have been recently making bets that a big shift in policy was coming soon. Those expectations of a shift in policy were driven by comments last week by Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda and Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino. Their remarks sent the yen and Japan bond yields soaring last Thursday.
But Monday saw the dollar
USDJPY,
climb 0.7% against the yen to 146.10 yen. The 10-year Japanese government bond
BX:TMBMKJP-10Y,
though, rose 6 basis points to 0.78%. The Nikkei 225 index
JP:NIK,
one of 2023’s best global stock exchange performers with a rise of 25%, gained 1.5%.
Ahead of the Bank of Japan decision, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank will all hold their last meetings of the year this week.
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