BOJ Set to Keep Rates Steady, Signal Hawkish Resolve

The Bank of Japan is expected to keep interest rates steady at 1% on Friday but signal its resolve to continue pushing up borrowing costs, according to Reuters.

The decision comes after the government intervened to boost the weak yen, which has been under pressure from a dovish administration and looming prospects of US rate hikes.

Hawkish board member Hajime Takata may dissent and propose a hike to 1.25%, some analysts say.

The BOJ meeting follows that of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday, at which the board kept interest rates steady but with three dissenters calling for a quarter-percentage-point hike.