Japan's Central Bank Ends Negative Interest Rate Era, First Hike in 17 Years

[wisdom01]

In a historic shift that marks the end of a decades-long battle against deflation, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised its benchmark interest rate from -0.1% to a range of 0% to 0.1%, its first hike since 2007. This monumental move signifies the BOJ's confidence that a virtuous cycle of sustained wage growth and stable price increases a phenomenon long absent from the Japanese economy—has finally taken hold.

The decision to dismantle the world's last remaining negative interest rate policy was accompanied by the cessation of yield curve control on government bonds and the end of purchases for exchange-traded funds, effectively unwinding the controversial "Abenomics" stimulus framework.