Japan’s 10-year government bond yield climbed to around 2.87% on Friday, its highest level in three weeks. The move tracked the rise in US Treasury yields, as markets priced in a more aggressive Federal Reserve tightening cycle following stronger-than-expected US consumer inflation data and hawkish comments from Fed officials.
At the same time, the Bank of Japan is widely expected to raise interest rates next month and to maintain a tightening bias into next year. The BOJ’s latest Summary of Opinions indicated broad support among policymakers for further rate hikes, noting that underlying inflation has reached levels broadly consistent with its 2% price stability target.
Even so, board member Toichiro Asada urged caution on the timing of additional increases, emphasizing that household consumption remains weak and that recent price gains have not necessarily been driven by robust demand.
