BoJ’s hawkish rhetoric signals negative rates may end soon

The distinct change in BoJ commentary is a part of governor Ueda’s plan to dismantle the controversial monetary stimulus of his dovish predecessor Haruhiko Kuroda. — Reuters

THE Bank of Japan (BoJ) has stepped up its drum beat of hawkish comments over the past week, in a series of communications that insiders say is priming markets for an end to negative interest rates, which could happen in the first few months of next year.

The distinct change in BoJ commentary is a part of governor Kazuo Ueda’s plan to dismantle the controversial monetary stimulus of his dovish predecessor Haruhiko Kuroda, which has been blamed for a host of issues including the yen’s sharp declines.