After eight years of negative rates, and 17 years without a rate hike, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is making a historic pivot away from its previous policy to focus on growth and reacceleration after decades of a more or less stagnant economy.
The BoJ is raising its short-term interest rates to a range of “around zero to 0.1%” from the previous negative 0.1%, according to CNN.
“The BoJ has once again managed to move the needle without moving the market.” says financial analyst Andreas Steno.
“We also have very few clues on the magnitude and/or timing of a potential rate hiking cycle. We will learn more when the BoJ updates the “Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices” in April, which is going to be interesting given the latest solid wage rounds.”