BoJ likely to hit pause on interest-rate hikes

Price gains: Travellers pass a flight information panel in a departure hall at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Ueda defends gradual rate hikes with data pointing to underlying inflation remaining below target. — Bloomberg

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is widely expected to signal a pause in policy normalisation this week as US tariffs heighten global uncertainty, without shifting its stance on gradually raising interest rates when the outlook clears.

Governor Kazuo Ueda’s board is poised to keep the benchmark rate at 0.5% at the conclusion of a two-day gathering on Thursday, according to all 54 economists in a Bloomberg survey.