The BOJ Monetary Policy Meeting will be held on 29–30 October, and Governor Ueda's regular press conference will be broadcast live at around 3:30 p.m. on the 30th. The market broadly expects rates to remain unchanged, with attention focused on any indication from the governor regarding the timing and pace of future additional rate hikes.
The BOJ policy meeting will be held on 29–30 October, with the press conference scheduled to begin at around 3:30 p.m. on the 30th. The market is widely expecting the policy rate to remain at its current level of approximately 1.25%, so attention is likely to focus less on the direction of rates than on the governor's comments about future policy.
An economic and price outlook, known as the Outlook Report, will be released, with the focus on how close the inflation rate has moved to the 2% target. The governor's indications regarding the timing and pace of additional rate hikes could influence the response of the foreign exchange and stock markets.
The governor's comments may also be influenced by assessments of risks related to the outlook for the overseas economy, yen depreciation and rising energy prices. Market participants are placing greater weight on the governor's comments about the direction of future rate hikes than on the decision to leave rates unchanged itself.
The press conference will be available to watch live, and the market reaction could change substantially depending on the contents of the announcement. This is expected to be an important juncture for assessing the BOJ's future monetary policy.