More than a half of surveyed Bank of Japan (BOJ) watchers forecast the central bank will decide to trim its government bond buying when authorities meet next week, with a growing number also looking ahead to a rate hike in July.
Some 54% of 50 economists said the bank will slow the pace of bond buying from around ?6 trillion ($38.5 billion) per month at the policy board gathering ending on June 14, according to a Bloomberg survey. About 70% see the possibility of such action rising due to recent weakness of the yen.
As for the timing of the bank¡¯s next interest rate hike, the poll showed many analysts are moving their expected time frames forward. One-third said they now expect the move in July, compared with 19% who held that view when surveyed in April. The percentage anticipating officials will wait until October dropped to one-third from 41%. Only one economist predicts a rate increase next week.
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