JPMorgan: Bank of Japan expected to keep Intrerest Rate unchanged, and the timing of the next rate hike may be brought forward to May.

According to the data from Jinshi on March 18th, JPMorgan Chase stated that the Central Bank of Japan will announce the interest rate decision for March this week. It is basically certain that the policy interest rate will be maintained at 0.50%, and whether the important conditions for further interest rate hikes will be revealed at the meeting. This will be crucial in determining the timing of the next rate hike and is worth following. Considering the recent increase in communication from Japanese Central Bank officials about the upward risks of inflation, we believe that it may imply a rate hike at the next meeting (i.e. the meeting in May), but our benchmark scenario is a rate hike in June. In the event that the Central Bank of Japan maintains its policy unchanged, the reaction of the Japanese yen exchange rate may be limited.