Institution: Three votes in favor of a rate hike were unexpected, Bank of Japan will maintain a bias towards raising rates.

Golden Ten Data April 28 – Hirofumi Suzuki, Chief Foreign Exchange Strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, stated that the three votes in favor of raising interest rates were somewhat unexpected, and Policy Board member Junko Nakagawa also switched to support a rate hike. In Japan, the impact related to the Middle East shock has already begun to affect consumer confidence, which is concerning in itself, and this effect is expected to be further transmitted to prices. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen remains under depreciation pressure in financial markets. Overall, the Bank of Japan will have no choice but to maintain a tightening bias. If it can be confirmed that the Middle East situation has eased, the bank is expected to raise interest rates further around June to July.