Central Banks
BOJ Under Fire for Rate-Hike Timing After Market Meltdown
- Yen’s sharp gains following BOJ rate hike weigh on stocks
- Some analysts cite political factors behind July hike
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The Bank of Japan’s monetary policy tightening last week has triggered a wave of criticism after it appears to have helped set off a historic plunge in Japanese stocks and contributed to global market turmoil — likely putting any plans for further interest-rate hikes on ice.
“The BOJ needs to be humble about economic data and the markets,” said Nobuyasu Atago, chief economist at Rakuten Securities Economic Research Institute and a former BOJ official. “The fact that the BOJ raised interest rates in the face of poor economic statistics shows that it did not pay attention to data.”