{
  "id": 8227129,
  "title": "Japanese yen may remain weak despite BOJ’s rate hike: Analysts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/japanese-yen-may-remain-weak-despite-bojs-rate-hike-analysts",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-18T10:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times Business",
    "slug": "straits-times-business",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/japanese-yen-may-remain-weak-despite-bojs-rate-hike-analysts"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Japanese currency analysts anticipate the yen may struggle to strengthen despite the Bank of Japan's recent interest rate increase. The yen has weakened, falling around 1.2% to approximately 157.98 against the US dollar following the Bank of Japan's 25 basis point hike on September 18, its highest level in 31 years. This move came just two days after the US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by the same margin. Analysts suggest a sustained yen recovery will likely depend on more aggressive rate hikes from Japan or a narrowing of the interest rate gap with the US. Josh Gilbert, an Asia-Pacific and Middle East analyst at eToro, noted the BOJ's decision was expected but expressed concerns over the split vote, hinting at potential resistance within the central bank to further tightening policy. Maybank Group's head of foreign exchange research, Saktiandi Supaat, emphasized the need for a more hawkish approach from the BOJ governor, Kazuo Ueda, to see meaningful gains in the yen before the end of the year. The immediate impact of the rate hike is expected to be minor as it was widely anticipated, but it could gradually provide some support for the yen by increasing borrowing costs. The yen has fallen about 5.1% against the Singapore dollar in 2025 and has lost an additional 0.4% so far in 2026. Maybank expects the yen to trade around 157 per US dollar by the end of 2026 and potentially strengthen slightly to 156 in the first half of 2027. Against the Singapore dollar, the yen is anticipated to remain relatively stable around 125 yen per Singdollar through the first half of 2027. OCBC Bank foreign exchange strategist Christopher Wong also predicts some resilience in the Singapore dollar against the yen in the near term, driven by Singapore's exchange-rate policy and its lower sensitivity to global interest rate fluctuations. However, he warns that yen volatility could persist, influenced by the BOJ's rate path, the difference in US and Japanese bond yields, oil prices, and any interventions by Japanese authorities to support the currency.",
  "summary": "The Bank of Japan on Sept 18 raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 per cent.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}