The Bank of Japan is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Friday. Investors will pay attention to whether Governor Kazuo Ueda will send a signal indicating that the next rate hike may come sooner than many economists currently expect. The 52 economists surveyed by the media all predicted that the Bank of Japan will keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at the end of the two-day meeting to assess the impact of raising interest rates to the highest level of 1% in 31 years last month. This will focus the market's attention on the latest economic forecasts and Ueda Kazuo's afternoon press conference. The meeting comes at a time when the market is increasingly convinced that the authorities may raise interest rates again before the end of October. The fall of the yen against the dollar to a low since 1986 intensified inflationary pressure, as Japan relied on imports for almost all of its energy and more than half of its food. Investors will be watching closely for any sign that officials believe the upward risk of inflation is increasing. At the same time, Japan's economy is more resilient than what the central bank feared a few months ago, giving the Policy Committee room to continue to promote policy normalization.

The Bank of Japan is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Friday. Investors will pay attention to whether Governor Kazuo Ueda will send a signal indicating that the next rate hike may come sooner than many economists currently expect. The 52 economists surveyed by the media all predicted that the Bank of Japan will keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at the end of the two-day meeting to assess the impact of raising interest rates to the highest level of 1% in 31 years last month. This will focus the market's attention on the latest economic forecasts and Ueda Kazuo's afternoon press conference. The meeting comes at a time when the market is increasingly convinced that the authorities may raise interest rates again before the end of October. The fall of the yen against the dollar to a low since 1986 intensified inflationary pressure, as Japan relied on imports for almost all of its energy and more than half of its food. Investors will be watching closely for any sign that officials believe the upward risk of inflation is increasing. At the same time, Japan's economy is more resilient than what the central bank feared a few months ago, giving the Policy Committee room to continue to promote policy normalization.