Bloomberg Surveillance · Friday, July 31, 2026
Malika Sakeva discussed the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) recent 'hawkish hold' and its emphasis on the currency, noting signs of FX intervention in USD/JPY. She believes that for the yen to truly strengthen, the BOJ must lift rates, but FX intervention can provide a runway for that process.
“But the other sime bank which has been in focus this week and where I spend a lot of attention is the Bank of Japan, which met this morning and had a hawkish hold and put a lot of emphasis on the currency. Obviously, going into the Bank of Japan meeting this morning, we had some signs of FX intervention in DOLLI n yesterday and so they certainly are sort of growing signs of policy discomfort with where the yen is.”
“I think four four yen for the end to truly strengthen back The path really is the Bank of Japan has to lift rates, but if officials want to give them a bit of a runway, you know, give them some time to raise rates, then FX intervention can be very helpful.”