According to Nikkei Asia, the Bank of Japan announced a 15 basis point interest rate hike on Wednesday (31st) and announced a plan to reduce bond purchases. This move showed that the Bank of Japan has increased confidence in the recovery of the domestic economy and also expressed its support for the yen. Rapidly depreciating attention.
In a two-day policy meeting, the Bank of Japan decided to raise the policy rate (unsecured overnight lending rate) to 0.25% from a range of 0% to 0.1%, following the end of the central bank's negative interest rate policy and the end of the stock market on March 19. Purchases and yield curve control (YCC) follow the second rate hike this year.
According to a survey of 181 bond investors conducted by Nikkei's information provider QUICK from July 23 to 25, only 26% of market participants expected interest rates to be raised, and most investors expected interest rates to be raised in September or October. Conducted monthly.
The Bank of Japan also announced a plan to reduce the size of Japanese government bond (JGB) purchases to 3 trillion yen per month by the first quarter of 2026, from the current 6 trillion yen.
The Bank of Japan launched large-scale quantitative easing in 2013. As of March 2024, it has accumulated Japanese government bonds worth 576 trillion yen, accounting for 53% of the total outstanding debt of the Japanese government. The Bank of Japan is expected to remain the largest holder of Japanese government bonds in the coming years.
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