BOJ intervenes to defend yen near 160, holds rates steady

Japan’s central bank held interest rates steady at 1.0% on Friday after a reported major intervention in the yen.Key points:Japan holds interest rates at 1.0%, following market expectations.Both Japan and South Korea’s central banks reportedly engage in currency interventions, as the JPY briefly gains 3.5% overnight.Bank of Japan warns of incoming CPI inflation headwinds in the second half of the year.Yen rises up to 3.5% as Korea joins interventionIn its latest statement, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) revealed broad consensus among officials for holding rates at current levels — an outcome that markets had anticipated in advance.“The Bank will encourage the uncollateralized overnight call rate to remain at around 1.0 percent,” it confirmed.Eight out of nine members of the bank’s Policy Board voted for the outcome, with only Hajime Takata proposing a 0.25% rate hike.Japan benchmark interest rate (screenshot). Source: BoJJapan’s benchmark rate remains at its highest levels since 1995, with the BoJ meeting result coming just hours after the yen saw snap volatility. Against the US dollar, the currency rose by as much as 3.5% on Thursday, per data from TradingView, in a move that has widely ...