Agencies
The yen weakened against the dollar Thursday after the Bank of Japan kept borrowing costs unchanged, extending a retreat for the currency that came after the Federal Reserve forecast fewer rate cuts.
The BOJ said after a two-day policy meeting that it would hold rates at around 0.25 percent, pushing the yen cheaper. At 4 p.m., the dollar was at 156.09-14 yen, compared with 153.66 on Wednesday.
Although the bank said in its policy statement that "Japan’s economy has recovered moderately” and "is likely to keep growing”, it also pointed to risks ahead.
These include "developments in overseas economic activity and prices, developments in commodity prices, and domestic firms’ wage- and price-setting behavior”.
The Fed on Wednesday cut interest rates by a quarter point, its third straight reduction.
But it signaled a slower pace of cuts ahead as inflation remained sticky and uncertainty surrounds President-elect Donald Trump’s economic plans.
Japanese businesses are also wary about the trade and investment environment, given Trump’s pledge to impose tariffs on imports.
Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute, told AFP ahead of Thursday’s decision that one reason the BOJ did not hike was that "the picture of next year’s wage increases will be clearer in January”.
Political factors were another reason, according to Ueno.
"As the minority government is discussing budget and tax reforms involving the opposition... it would be bad timing for the BoJ to hike its rate” as that could cool the economy, he said.
The government recently passed an extra budget worth nearly 14 trillion yen to help pay for a massive economic stimulus package.
It includes handouts for low-income households, fuel and energy subsidies and assistance to small businesses.