BOJ’s Takata: We have no preset idea on timing, level of future rate hikes

• We look at core inflation numbers excluding fresh food in gauging price trend
• But also mindful that rising fresh food costs could affect households’ inflation expectations
• The closer we get towards the neutral rate, the harder it is to estimate the exact level
• No specific target, timing for further rate hikes
• It will be decided by looking at corporate activity, economy, and market moves

He’s not giving anything away, as you would expect by the BOJ at the moment. The narrative now is that we’ll have to wait and see if they would want to speed things up after the spring wage negotiations in March. So, there’s still a few more weeks to see how policymakers take to the developments there.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.