Tokyo inflation rose sharply in December, and with it rose the expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) interest rate hike in early 2024. Consumer prices in the Japanese capital increased by 3.0% year-over-year,

The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday and its governor offered few clues on how soon it could push up borrowing costs, sending the yen and bond yields tumbling on fresh doubts over the near-term chances of a rate hike.

Economists at two major financial firms pushed out expectations for the Bank of Japan’s next interest rate hike to March 2025 from January after Governor Kazuo Ueda struck a cautious tone in his monetary policy briefing Thursday.

The decision comes a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 basis points, bringing the federal funds rate to 4.25%-4.5%.

The Bank of Japan keeps interest rates at 0.25% for the third time, monitoring wage growth and US policy impacts under Trump.

Japan's core inflation accelerated in November as rising food and fuel costs hit households, data showed on Friday, keeping the central bank under pressure to raise interest rates. The data, which came in the wake of the Bank of Japan's decision to maintain interest rates at 0.

Core inflation in Japan's capital accelerated in December while services inflation held steady, data showed on Friday, keeping alive market expectations for a near-term interest rate hike.