PANews December 19 news, the Bank of Japan today announced that it will maintain the policy interest rate at 0.25%, marking its third consecutive pause in interest rate hikes. The voting result was 8:1, with only committee member Naoki Tamura supporting a rate hike to 0.5%. As a result, the dollar surged 70 points against the yen, reaching 155.27, with analysts warning of further depreciation risks for the yen.
The Bank of Japan stated that it will continue to observe the correlation between wage growth and the inflation target, with inflation currently expected to be roughly in line with the 2% target in the latter part of the 2026 fiscal year. The market is focused on President Kazuo Ueda's press conference in the afternoon for clues about future interest rate hikes. Analysts believe that if there are no clear indications of a rate hike in January or March next year, the yen may weaken further, and the dollar/yen could rise to the 160 mark.