Hawkish Bank of Japan board member signals potential interest rate hike this spring
Naoki Tamura says Japan is close to hitting its inflation target and may raise rates by spring. He noted that current levels remain far from neutral.
Bank of Japan board member Naoki Tamura signalled the possibility of an interest-rate increase in the coming months, stating that underlying inflation is now very close to the central bank's 2% target. Speaking on Friday, Tamura indicated that the 2% target may be judged achieved "by this spring," a comment that raises the prospect of additional policy tightening. This development follows a move by the Bank of Japan in January to raise its policy rate to 0.75%.
