BOJ Heads Toward Rate Hike as Markets Take Trump in Stride.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda is on track to raise interest rates to the highest level since 2008 on Friday, after global financial markets responded with relative calm to US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Ahead of Trump’s inauguration, BOJ officials saw a good chance of a rate hike at the end of this week’s two-day meeting, provided the president didn’t unleash too many negative surprises, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg earlier this month.

Government officials will also go along with an increase this week, people familiar with the matter said in comments that followed the inauguration.

Should the hike materialize as widely expected, this would be Ueda’s third rate move in less than 12 months, after 17 years without an increase before last March.

Source: FINANCE.YAHOO