Kazuo Ueda News

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Kevin Buckland

Currency traders preparing for this week’s policy decisions from the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan got fresh reminders that Japanese officials stand ready to intervene in the currency market with possible US backing if swings in the yen are deemed excessive.

China's economic slowdown has rippled through Asia. Tourists aren't flocking to Thai beaches or Singaporean malls in the numbers anticipated. Factories are struggling, and there are questions about whether Beijing can bankroll public works in the manner to which the neighborhood has become accustomed. One glaring omission from the list of spillovers: interest-rate cuts. Despite the country's heft, China's travails aren't translating into easing in its backyard.

By Rae Wee

By Vidya Ranganathan

dollar was broadly steady on Wednesday ahead of a key U.S. inflation report later in the day, though it rose on the yen as traders assessed comments from Japan's top central banker on a possible early exit from its negative interest rate policy. The U.S.

By Samuel Indyk and Rae Wee

Bank of Japan policymakers are increasingly talking up the need to shift away from the massive monetary stimulus of the past decade, even as growing global risks heighten concerns about a fragile economic recovery. A series of hawkish comments by BOJ speakers in recent weeks suggest the bank is preparing markets for an eventual policy change amid growing price pressures in deflation-prone Japan, analysts say. Even dovish members of the BOJ board have expressed an openness to talk about a long-awaited exit from the extremely accommodative policy of former governor Haruhiko Kuroda, acknowledging changes in conditions may warrant a tweak in monetary settings. Governor Kazuo Ueda told a newspaper interview on Saturday the BOJ could get enough data by year-end to judge whether conditions are in place to raise short-term interest rates. Ueda's remarks, which pushed up the yen and bond yields on Monday, followed those of BOJ board member Naoki Tamura last month that suggested the bank could safely hike short-term rates without hurting the economy. «Even if the BOJ were to end negative rates, it won't be scaling back monetary easing as long as it can keep interest rates low,» said Tamura, a former commercial bank executive. The commentary contrasts in tone to the pro-growth posture adopted under Kuroda, an advocate of aggressive monetary easing to shock Japan out of its deflationary mindset. It also suggests the BOJ under Ueda will be more inclined to prioritise unwinding the Kuroda-era policy framework, which has been blamed for distorting bond markets and crushing bank margin. «The BOJ will proclaim that Japan has achieved 2% inflation and end negative rates in April,» said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at Daiwa

By Tom Westbrook

yen steadied near a one-week high on Tuesday as comments from Japan's top central banker on a possible end to its negative interest rate policy reverberated through markets, while the dollar regained some lost ground. Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda told a newspaper interview over the weekend the bank could get enough data by year-end to determine whether it can end negative rates, remarks that on Monday saw the yen clock its largest daily gain against the dollar in two months. The Japanese currency was last marginally lower at 146.61 per dollar, after scaling a one-week top of 145.91 in the previous session. «Essentially, Governor Ueda laid out a conditional path and timeframe for the first-rate hike and a move away from its negative interest rate policy, should the data permit,» said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. «One can assume that the BOJ are also one step closer to moving away from yield curve control (YCC), and logically one could argue that the BOJ would like to be able to lift rates and remove YCC concurrently.» The yen has come under immense pressure against the dollar as a result of growing interest rate differentials with the United States, since the Federal Reserve began its aggressive rate-hike cycle last year while the BOJ remains a dovish outlier. Elsewhere, the U.S.

traders waiting on U.S. inflation data to signal that interest rates may have peaked. The yen notched its best day against the dollar in two months overnight, after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said policymakers might have enough economic information by year's end to determine that short-term rates will need to rise. The yuan had its best day in six months after authorities vowed to correct one-way moves and Reuters reported the central bank had stepped up scrutiny of dollar buying. Both, however, remain near their weakest levels of the year and with the yuan at 7.3022 per dollar in offshore trade and the yen last a little off Monday highs at 146.68 per dollar. Japanese government bonds remained under pressure on Tuesday, with 10-year JGB yields up 1 basis point to a fresh high of 0.71%. «The result of Ueda's comments was an intense move higher in Japanese swaps and government bond yields,» said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne. "(It) is certainly constructive for yen longs.

By Jamie McGeever

The Nikkei fell 0.43% to close at 32,467.76 after rising as much as 0.4% earlier in the session. The index initially tracked Wall Street's gains at the end of last week. In an article in the Yomiuri newspaper published over the weekend, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank could end its negative interest rate policy when achievement of its 2% inflation target was in sight, signalling possible rate hikes. «The impact was directly reflected in today's market, with financial stocks leading the gains, while real estate stocks were beaten down,» said Takehiko Masuzawa, trading head at Phillip Securities Japan. «But the market was not in a broad sell-off.

By Leika Kihara

'We should not dismiss the fact a window of opportunity may be opening to exit deflation,' Japan's government said.

By Tetsushi Kajimoto

Japan's central bank has opted to keep its benchmark interest rate at minus 0.1% but has fine-tuned its bond purchases to allow greater flexibility in its policies

By Leika Kihara

TOKYO (Reuters) — The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will maintain accommodative monetary conditions for companies, Governor Kazuo Ueda was quoted as saying at a key government meeting on Wednesday.

COMEX gold rose during the first half of the week as recent data from the US, particularly the CPI and retail sales, showed that price pressures are cooling, warranting a smaller Fed action than previously expected. Investors are now expecting the US Fed to hike rates by 25 bps in July and pushed back against any rate hikes in the September FOMC meeting. Data released on Tuesday showed that US retail sales and industrial production missed estimates, a potentially welcome sign for the Fed as it seeks to cool inflation.

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