BOJ Policymaker Backs Rate Hikes to 1 Pct

   Matsumoto, Nagano Pref., Feb. 6 (Jiji Press)--The Bank of Japan needs to raise its policy interest rate to around 1 pct during fiscal 2025 through March 2026, BOJ policymaker Naoki Tamura said Thursday.
   "My sense is that (Japan's) neutral interest rate would be at least around 1 pct," Tamura said in a speech in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan.
   "I think it is necessary for the bank to raise the short-term interest rate to at least that level by the second half of fiscal 2025," he continued.
   Even if the BOJ raises the policy rate to 0.75 pct from the current 0.5 pct, "there would still be a long way to go before reaching a level that would put downward pressure on economic activities," he also said.
   Tamura's remarks prompted investors to buy yen against dollars on speculation that the interest rate gap between Japan and the United States will narrow, pushing the U.S. currency below 152 yen for the first time in about two months briefly.

(2025/02/06-15:29)

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