BOJ Summary recap – “BOJ board turned hawkish in April”

Reuters recap of the Bank of Japan ‘Summary of Opinions’ for the April 25-26 meeting:

• Bank of Japan board members turned overwhelmingly hawkish at their April policy meeting with many calling for steady interest rates hikes to forestall risks of an inflation overshoot
• “If underlying inflation continues to deviate upward from the baseline scenario against the backdrop of a weaker yen, it is quite possible that the pace of monetary policy normalisation will accelerate,” one member was quoted as saying.

USD/JPY dipped after the Summary, hitting lows under 155.20 very briefly before coming back to make a fresh session high around 155.70. The caveat to the hawkishness at the BOJ is the “if” inflation continues. Wage rises are yet to kick in, so there is a better prospect for inflation to rise than there has been for many years.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.