Source: Insider <u>Source:</u> Insider Anonymous Source: Bank of Japan to Commit to Further Rate Hike at Next Week's Policy Meeting

BlockBeats News, December 12th, According to three sources, the Bank of Japan may next week maintain its commitment to further rate hikes but will emphasize that the pace of future hikes will depend on the economic response to each hike.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has already essentially announced a rate hike in December, and the market has almost fully priced in the possibility of raising the rate from 0.5% to 0.75% in December. The market's focus has now shifted to how far the Bank of Japan can raise the rate to a neutral level. Sources said that while the central bank may internally update its estimate of the policy rate distance to the perceived neutral level, it will not use this estimate as a primary communication tool for future rate hike paths due to the difficulty of making precise predictions.

Sources say instead the Bank of Japan will explain that future rate hike decisions will be based on considerations of how past rate hikes have affected bank lending, corporate financing conditions, and other economic activities. One source said, "Japan's real interest rates are very low, which allows the Bank of Japan to continue rate hikes in several stages," and the other two sources also share the same view. (Kin Summit)