Bessent Sees Japan Staging Yen Comeback with BOJ Rate Hike

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expects Japan's government and central bank to take action that leads to a stronger yen, signaling a strong chance of a Bank of Japan interest rate hike in September.

Bessent told CNBC on Monday that he believes BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda will 'do the right thing' on monetary policy to combat yen declines. When asked whether raising interest rates was one of those actions, Bessent said: 'I think the market's pricing that in now.'

The yen gained against the dollar after Bessent's comments, which reinforced dominant market expectations the BOJ will raise rates at its next policy meeting on September 17-18. The dollar stood at 159.73 yen on Monday.