BoJ’s Ueda: Want to see if next spring's wage growth is strong enough to support consumption

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda is speaking at the press conference, held after its December policy meeting on Tuesday.

Key quotes

US Fed’s rate-cut phase may have impact on Japan's economy, including on FX rates.

Japan's consumption has shown some weakness but continues to recover overall.

Want to see if next spring's wage growth is strong enough to support consumption.

It should be possible for the market to forecast our policy shift at least to some extent.

Cannot deny some negative effect of negative interest rate policy on financial institutions' profitability.

But banks are seeing strong profits.

Difficult to present firm picture on exit.

Don't have detailed picture of what policies would be taken in what order when time comes for exit from negative interest rate policy.

Accommodative conditions would be maintained for unspecified period of time after lifting of negative rates.

Rising voices for normalisation may be a sign that demand-driven inflation is becoming more evident.

It can be difficult or confusing for BoJ to show outlook for short-term policy rate as the US Fed does.

USD/JPY reaction to Ueda's comments

At the time of writing, USD/JPY is rebounding toward 144.00, in a sharp U-turn from near 143.40. The pair is up 0.81% on the day.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

EUR/USD climbs to daily highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD now picks up pace and advances to the area of daily peaks north of the 1.1800 barrier at the end of the week. The pair’s decent move higher comes against the backdrop of a generalised lack of direction in the FX galaxy and the mild offered stance in the US Dollar.

GBP/USD trims losses, retests 1.3460

After briefly challenging its key 200-day SMA near 1.3440, GBP/USD now manages to regain some balance and revisit the 1.3460 zone on Friday. Cable’s pullback comes as the selling pressure on the Greenback gathers traction, reigniting some recovery in the risk-linked space.

Gold flirts with four-week highs past $5,200

Gold extends its rebound, climbing for a third consecutive session and pushing back above the $5,200 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The move higher continues to draw support from lingering geopolitical tensions and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding US trade policy, both of which are keeping safe-haven demand firmly in play.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate with short-term cautious bullish bias

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.

Changing the game: International implications of recent tariff developments

The Supreme Court ruling on International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs provides limited relief for the rest of the world, with weighted average tariff rates modestly lower.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.