Japanese stocks capped off the week with gains on Friday, even as Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda reiterated his intent to raise interest rates if inflation hits the 2% target.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%, or 153.26 points, closing at 38,364.27.
The cautious stance comes amid ongoing concerns over a possible recession in the US and the BOJ’s recent rate hike in July, which had sparked market turbulence.
Ueda linked the early August sell-off to these concerns and hinted that further rate hikes might be delayed if economic and inflation trends deviate from expectations.
Meanwhile, core consumer prices in Japan rose 2.7% in July, marking the third consecutive month of acceleration, following June’s 2.6% and May’s 2.5%.
The headline CPI remained steady at 2.8%, while the CPI excluding fresh food and energy fell to 1.9% from 2.2%, reinforcing speculation of a possible central bank rate increase.
Source: Bloomberg
