Ueda Skips Jackson Hole, Market Focus Shifts to G20

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will not attend the annual Jackson Hole gathering in Wyoming this week due to scheduling conflicts, according to a statement from the central bank. Instead, BOJ board member Naoki Tamura will represent Ueda at the event.

Tamura is seen as a hawk on the nine-member board and has publicly called for raising interest rates to counter upside risks to prices. His presence at Jackson Hole may have limited media opportunities, as he won't be making any public comments during the meeting.

The BOJ's absence from Jackson Hole puts the spotlight on Ueda's possible appearance at next week's G20 finance leaders' gathering in Asheville, North Carolina. Market participants are looking for hints about whether the central bank could speed up its pace and timing of rate hikes to cope with mounting inflationary risks.

A joint US-Japan yen intervention and a statement from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have led markets to near fully price in the chance of a September rate hike by the BOJ, which would follow one in June. Economists polled by Reuters expect the BOJ to raise its policy rate to 1.25 per cent from 1 per cent at the Sept 17 and 18 meeting.