More than a half of surveyed Bank of Japan (BOJ) watchers forecast the central bank will decide to trim its government bond buying when authorities meet next week, with a growing number also looking ahead to a rate hike in July.
Some 54% of 50 economists said the bank will slow the pace of bond buying from around ¥6 trillion ($38.5 billion) per month at the policy board gathering ending on June 14, according to a Bloomberg survey. About 70% see the possibility of such action rising due to recent weakness of the yen.
As for the timing of the bank’s next interest rate hike, the poll showed many analysts are moving their expected time frames forward. One-third said they now expect the move in July, compared with 19% who held that view when surveyed in April. The percentage anticipating officials will wait until October dropped to one-third from 41%. Only one economist predicts a rate increase next week.