After the general election, the Governor of the Bank of Japan will first talk about monetary policy, and may reveal signals of a rate hike in his speech on Monday next week.

The Governor of the Bank of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda, will deliver a speech and hold a press conference in the central Japanese city of Nagoya next Monday. The market is eagerly anticipating this event, hoping to gain insight into when the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates again. The Bank of Japan has announced that Kuroda will deliver a speech in Nagoya from 09:00-10:30 Beijing time, followed by a press conference from 12:45-13:15. This is Kuroda's first opportunity to directly discuss monetary policy since Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election. Analysts have differing opinions on whether the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates in December or January next year, despite surprising consumer resilience shown in Japan's third-quarter GDP data. Some analysts believe that given the criticism Kuroda faced after unexpectedly raising rates in July, he may take a more assertive stance to prepare for a potential rate hike in December. The recent decline in the yen against the dollar has also increased pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise rates sooner, as a weaker yen would boost inflation and harm household spending. Furthermore, the falling yen against the dollar has also added pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise rates soon. Some analysts believe that the Bank of Japan may take action quickly as a weaker yen could increase inflation and hurt household spending by raising import costs. After briefly rebounding to around 141 in September, the yen to dollar exchange rate has fallen back to levels seen before the Bank of Japan's rate hike in July. Currently, the yen is hovering around 156, close to the 160 level, which policymakers are concerned about. Naomi Muguruma, chief bond strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, stated that as long as wages and service prices continue to grow at the current pace, the Bank of Japan may adjust the degree of monetary support. The weak yen also brings new inflation risks, further increasing the possibility of a rate hike in December. Recent data released on Wednesday showed that wholesale inflation climbed at its fastest pace in over a year in October, due to the depreciation of the yen leading to higher import costs. This further increases the likelihood of a rate hike. To combat inflationary pressures and the effects of the yen depreciation, the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy in March and raised short-term policy rates to 0.25% in July. However, despite these measures, there is still uncertainty in the market about whether the Bank of Japan will raise rates again. A Reuters survey conducted from October 3 to 11 showed that the majority of economists do not expect the Bank of Japan to raise rates again this year, although nearly 90% of economists predict a rate hike by the end of March next year.