The Bank of Japan (BOJ) avoided fueling market expectations over the likelihood of a rate hike this month by keeping its signaling from two quarterly regional economic reports highly nuanced.
The BOJ left the economic assessments of all nine regions unchanged in its Sakura report Monday, saying the respective economies are either recovering or picking up. At the same time, the BOJ said there is emerging cautiousness in the areas over the ramifications of the war in the Middle East.
“Looking ahead, amid increasing uncertainty, concerns have been expressed about rising prices, particularly for energy, and their negative effects on corporate profits and private consumption,” the BOJ said in a separate release summarizing the views of branch managers.