Bank of Japan hikes key interest rate to 1.25%
The central bank's decision to raise its rate won a 7-2 majority vote following recent tightening by the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve.
The Bank of Japan has increased its key interest rate to 1.25%, a level not seen in over three decades, in an effort to combat inflation driven by soaring energy costs and a weakened Japanese currency. Markets had anticipated the rate hike, which came after similar tightening measures by the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve.
The decision to raise the rate by 25 basis points was made by a 7-2 vote among central bank officials, as reported on the Bank of Japan's website. The surge in oil prices, triggered by the ongoing Middle East crisis, is expected to maintain inflationary pressure. Additionally, the Japanese yen has depreciated to its weakest level against the US dollar in four decades, leading to a historic foreign exchange intervention by the United States and Japan.
Looking ahead, the Bank of Japan intends to persist with raising policy interest rates, as current inflation rates are nearing 2%, and the financial environment remains accommodative.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Bank of Japan ups rates to 31-year high news.rthk.hk
- Bank of Japan hikes key interest rate to 1.25% freemalaysiatoday.com
- Bank of Japan raises rates, and might do so again soon japantimes.co.jp
