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Bank will probably wait until March While the Bank of Japan refrained from hiking interest rates at its December meeting, the case for further policy tightening remains intact. For a start, the “Summary of Opinions” of that meeting showed that at least …
10th January 2025
Our Japan Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. With real household incomes set to fall again this year, the rebound in consumer spending will start to lose momentum in 2025. Even so, with the yen set …
9th January 2025
Regular earnings growth will hold strong at just under 3% this year Growth in base pay rose to its highest figure since 1992 in November, and we think that it will continue to hold strong through to this year. According to today’s preliminary estimate, …
8th January 2025
We now expect underlying inflation to remain above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for most of 2025 and the Bank to hike rates to 1.25%. However, we believe that it’s too early for the Bank to declare victory in its quest to lift inflation sustainably to …
The Cold War was defined by geopolitical blocs – the Soviet or Eastern bloc against the Western bloc. Geopolitics retreated with the collapse of the Soviet Union. The period from the early-1990s to the early-2010s was instead an era of globalisation: most …
7th January 2025
Donald Trump’s second term could redraw the global geopolitical map. A sustainable “Grand Bargain” with China, warmer relations with Russia, or a breakdown in the relationship between the US and its traditional allies could each reshape supply chains and …
When matters less than how far Governor Ueda delivered two messages in the press conference after yesterday’s policy meeting : first, the Bank of Japan thinks that policy normalisation is still on track and it intends to raise rates further; second, the …
20th December 2024
Surge in headline inflation won’t last, but underlying inflation to remain near target November’s surge in inflation wasn’t a surprise – the Bank of Japan will have known it was on the cards when it decided not to hike rates yesterday. But it should add …
19th December 2024
The Bank of Japan's decision to leave rates on hold for a third consecutive meeting was not a great surprise. But in the post-meeting press conference Governor Ueda sounded in no hurry at all to resume the tightening cycle and there’s now a good chance …
Bank will bring in the new year with a rate hike Although the Bank of Japan left rates on hold for a third consecutive meeting, we think it will resume its tightening cycle before long. The Bank’s decision to leave the policy rate unchanged at 0.25% was …
Tankan adds to case for December hike Q3 private consumption revised down Real GDP growth for the third quarter was revised up to 0.3% q/q from 0.2% in the second estimate released on Monday. However, private consumption was revised down from a 0.9% q/q …
13th December 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Tankan points to sluggish growth The mediocre increase in business conditions across all firm sizes in the latest Tankan suggests that the activity is unlikely to rebound …
Muddied communication from BoJ makes December meeting a close call On balance, we’re sticking to our forecast of a 25bp rate hike next week With inflation overshooting BoJ’s forecasts, further tightening next year likely The outcome of the Bank’s upcoming …
12th December 2024
December still on After a news report on Wednesday poured cold water on the prospect of a rate hike at the Bank of Japan’s upcoming meeting in a couple of weeks, the financial markets now price in only a 40% chance of a hike then, down from 60% last week. …
6th December 2024
Base pay rose the most since 1992 in October and we think it will continue to hold strong through to the end of next year. According to today’s preliminary estimate, labour cash earnings rose by 2.6% in October, which was just a tad higher than the 2.5% …
5th December 2024
Overview – We now expect inflation excluding fresh food and energy to remain above the Bank of Japan’s target for most of next year as the yen remains weak for longer and the upcoming spring wage negotiations result in another sizeable pay hike. …
3rd December 2024
We now think the 10-year JGB yield will rise further, the yen will make more ground against the US dollar, and Japan’s equities will struggle to make much headway (in yen terms). Inflation in Japan looked, only a couple of months ago, to be firmly on the …
2nd December 2024
We held an online session on US import tariffs on 26th November. (See a recording here ). In this Update we answer the questions we were most asked. What are Trump’s motives for threatening tariffs and will he follow through? Trump has spoken about using …
29th November 2024
Inflation gaining renewed momentum The October activity data suggest that the economy continued to lose momentum this quarter. But with the labour market still very tight, we doubt that the Bank of Japan will be very concerned. Instead, the Bank will feel …
Activity data point to sluggish Q4 While industrial production and retail sales both rose in October, the figures are consistent with output stagnating at best this quarter. Taking industrial production first, the 3.0% m/m rise marked the second …
Underlying inflation set to remain above 2% The Tokyo CPI suggests that inflation excluding fresh food and energy rose further above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target in November, supporting our long-held view that the Bank will hike rates in December. In …
28th November 2024
President-elect Donald Trump’s first threatened tariffs since the election are designed to extract concessions on drug trafficking and illegal border crossings, which means it may be possible for the countries targeted – Canada, Mexico and China – to head …
26th November 2024
We discussed the global impact of higher tariffs in a Drop-In on Tuesday, 26th November. Click here to watch the 20-minute online briefing. In this Focus, we construct a framework to explore the channels through which an import tariff works, which we use …
25th November 2024
Risks are shifting towards more BoJ tightening The stars are aligning for our long-held view of another rate hike before year-end. For a start, the LDP/Komeito coalition and the DPP have agreed on a ¥13.9tn (2.3% of GDP) supplementary budget. The LDP …
22nd November 2024
This page has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. Flash PMI points to continued rebound in activity The renewed rise in the composite PMI supports our view that activity will continue to expand at a robust pace in the remainder …
Pick-up in underlying inflation will prompt rate hike next month The slowdown in headline inflation in October was due to base effects from utilities prices. With underlying inflation climbing further above the Bank’s 2% target, the case for another rate …
21st November 2024
Consumption continuing to surge For the first time since the market turmoil in August, the financial markets consider it more likely than not that the Bank of Japan will hike rates by another 25bp at its December meeting. One reason is that markets now …
15th November 2024
GDP growth set to remain sluggish The economy lost momentum in the third quarter and we think that GDP growth will remain around trend over the coming quarters. According to today’s preliminary estimate, GDP growth slowed from a downward-revised 0.5% q/q …
Our base case is that the LDP/Komeito coalition will be able to push through major pieces of legislation, including a supplementary budget by year-end, with only minor concessions to the Democratic Party for the People. If the DPP insists on its radical …
13th November 2024
Our Japan Chart Pack has been updated with the latest data and our analysis of recent developments. Wage growth is starting to outpace inflation and with real incomes rising, the rebound in consumer spending has further to run. With the Bank of Japan …
12th November 2024
Tariffs won’t be a big drag We’re now assuming that Donald Trump will impose a 60% tariff on US imports from China and a 10% tariff on imports from all other countries next year. The US is Japan’s largest export destination, with shipments equivalent to a …
8th November 2024
Regular wage growth may already have peaked The strong pay hikes in this year’s spring wage negotiations now seem to be fully reflected in labour cash earnings and we expect wage growth to slow again next year. According to today’s preliminary estimate, …
7th November 2024
LDP loses majority for first time since 2009 We already indicated last week that the LDP might lose its majority in last Sunday’s House of Representatives election, but the fact that it failed to achieve a majority even once we include the seats of …
1st November 2024
BoJ Governor Ueda sounded more optimistic today and we’re sticking to our forecast of another rate hike at the Bank’s next meeting in December, though we don’t expect further tightening in 2025 . It came as no surprise that the Bank left its policy rate …
31st October 2024
Bank of Japan will hike rates at December meeting The Bank of Japan retained its hawkish outlook when it kept policy unchanged at today’s meeting and we still expect a rate hike to 0.5% at its next meeting in December. It came as no surprise that the Bank …
Consumption weakening yet again The September activity data were a mixed bag and consistent with our view that GDP growth slowed last quarter. Taking industrial production first, the 1.4% m/m rise was stronger than most had anticipated (Refinitiv …
LDP election loss heralds era of political instability Following its poor showing in yesterday’s Lower House elections, the LDP will need to form an untested coalition to remain in power which will undermine its ability to push through major pieces of …
27th October 2024
October surprise? The result of Japan’s Lower House election should be clear by early Monday morning. The new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, called Sunday’s vote to take advantage of a revival in the government’s popularity since he replaced Fumio …
25th October 2024
Strong US labour market should have soothed hard landing concerns Domestic data remain strong, but Bank has signalled that it won’t hike in October Bank will wait until December to hike again, but won’t tighten any further in 2025 The Bank of Japan …
24th October 2024
Flash PMI economic momentum is fizzling out The sharp fall in the composite PMI to a 2-year low supports our view that the strong rebound in activity that started in Q2 will be more muted across the second half of the year. Today’s flash estimate showed …
We argued last year that the relative strength of Japan’s stock market mostly reflected the weak yen rather than a fundamental transformation of its corporate sector. Developments since then suggest that we were right and with the yen set, in our view, to …
23rd October 2024
Government to increase supplementary spending Prime Minister Ishiba said this week that the customary supplementary budget due before the end of this year will be larger than last year’s ¥13tn (2.2% of GDP). This is probably motivated by the upcoming …
18th October 2024
Underlying inflation will remain around 2% for now While the resumption of electricity subsidies resulted in a plunge in headline inflation in September, inflation excluding fresh food and energy rose to a three-month high and should remain around 2% over …
Record growth in household incomes The Q2 household income data released this week were much stronger than we had anticipated. Indeed, both nominal and real disposable income have risen the most on record over the past year, leaving aside the temporary …
11th October 2024
Despite the surge in foreign visitors, Japan’s tourism industry is still struggling as domestic tourists have slashed holiday spending in the face of plunging real incomes. One of the sectors where the pandemic is still having a visible impact on Japan’s …
9th October 2024
Wage growth is starting to outpace inflation and with real incomes rising, the rebound in consumer spending has further to run. While the Bank of Japan has become more concerned about a global economic slowdown, the domestic conditions would warrant …
8th October 2024
Regular earnings growth will remain close to 3% Base pay rose the most since 1992 in August and we think it will continue to surge in the coming months. According to today’s preliminary estimate, labour cash earnings rose by 3.0 y/y in August. That result …
Tankan upbeat, BoJ cautious The August activity data were a mixed bag, with retail sales rising for the fifth consecutive month but the 3.3% m/m plunge in industrial output was much weaker than expected. What’s more, firms’ production forecasts don’t …
4th October 2024
Tankan points to continued recovery This website has been updated with additional analysis since first publication. The slight rise in business conditions across all firm sizes in the latest Tankan suggests that the robust rebound in activity in Q2 will …
1st October 2024
Economic recovery lost some pace in Q3 While the plunge in industrial production in August creates some downside risks to our forecasts, the continued strength in consumer spending is encouraging. According to the preliminary estimate, industrial …
30th September 2024
