BOJ Watchers Expect Hike by January With 36% Touting October

Most Bank of Japan watchers expect authorities to lift the benchmark interest rate by January, with the proportion picking next month as the likely timing edging down after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation amplified political uncertainty, according to a Bloomberg survey.

While no one forecasts a rate change when Governor Kazuo Ueda’s board delivers a policy decision on Friday next week, some 88% of 50 surveyed economists said the central bank will raise the rate from 0.5% by the end of January, according to the poll.