Bank of Japan's "hawkish pause" lands! Underlying inflation hitting target paves the way for a return to rate hikes in December; amid the AI selloff, the yen regains its safe-haven luster.

Zhitong Finance APP has learned that the Bank of Japan, during the Asian midday session on Friday, kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as expected by the market, following the monetary policy pace of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. At the same time, in its official monetary policy statement, the Bank of Japan stated for the first time that underlying inflation had reached the 2% target. This milestone can be said to have opened the door for a return to the rate hike process as early as December and for the normalization of the future policy rate path.