BOJ’s Ueda: Will Keep Raising Rates as Inflation Nears 2%

Ueda's explicit commitment to further hikes, framed as gradual adjustment rather than tightening, signals the BOJ is normalizing policy while trying to avoid a sharp repricing of yen assets. That matters most for carry-trade positioning and for crypto and RWA markets that have grown accustomed to abundant yen liquidity. The notable detail is the watchlist itself — the weak yen, AI-driven demand and Middle East tensions — since any of these could complicate the inflation path. Whether the BOJ can keep hiking gradually without unsettling global risk appetite is the open question.