BOJ Summary Displays Hawkish Tilt With Debate on Size of Hike

The Bank of Japan’s policy board presented a hawkish posture in a summary of opinions aired during their meeting earlier this month, with one member hinting at the possibility of having to respond to the Middle East conflict with a bigger rate hike than those recently undertaken.

“If there are no signs of a significant deterioration in the economic environment or in the wage setting stance of small firms, the bank will need to raise the policy interest rate without hesitation,” one of nine board members said, according to a summary of the March 18-19 meeting released Monday.