The Bank of Japan held its policy rate at 1% in an 8-1 vote while warning core inflation could move clearly above 2% from September. The yen had traded near 163 per dollar before a reported intervention-related move lifted it as far as 157.96.
USD/JPY reached 161.80 on June 19, according to CNBC, marking the yen’s weakest level since July 2024 and putting intervention risk back on traders’ screens after the Bank of Japan’s rate move.
The Bank of Japan raised its money-market guideline to around 1.0%, a 25 bp move from 0.75%, with a 7-1 Policy Board vote. The statement tied the move to faster crude-oil pass-through, rising medium- to long-term inflation expectations and still-negative real rates.
The Bank of Japan kept the overnight call-rate target at around 0.75% in a 6-3 vote and lifted its FY2026 core CPI view to 2.5%-3.0%. The April outlook said an oil shock tied to the Middle East would slow growth in 2026 even as inflation risks skew upward.