TOKYO, Aug 7 (Reuters) – Bank of Japan board member Kazuyuki Masu will join other board members in delivering speeches before the central bank’s next policy meeting September 17 to 18, which is widely expected to result in a rate hike.
Masu will deliver a speech and hold a news conference on September 10, the central bank said on Friday. Before that, Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino will deliver a speech on August 27 while hawkish board member Hajime Takata will deliver one on September 2.
Last week’s joint Japan-U.S. yen intervention and comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaling his desire for an early rate hike have all but locked the BOJ into raising rates in September, sources have said.
Previous rate hikes have been preceded by advance signals from BOJ officials of such moves, typically in speeches delivered by executives in pre-scheduled events.
The BOJ ended a decade-long, massive stimulus in 2024 and has since raised interest rates several times including in June, when it took its policy rate to a 31-year high of 1%.
But the slow pace of hikes has been blamed for the yen’s slide to 40-year lows by keeping the Japan-U.S. rate gap wide.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
