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Morning Edition · Saturday, July 18, 2026Published at 1:29 AM EDT · New York
Bank of Japan Set to Hold Rates and Lift Growth Forecast as the Yen Stays Weak
Verbal warnings of decisive action have not moved the currency, and Apple raised the entry iPhone 17 price about 10 percent in Japan to near 143,000 yen.
The Bank of Japan is likely to keep its policy rate unchanged at its July meeting while raising its economic growth forecast, sources told The Japan Times. Officials plan to finalize the decision after assessing incoming data up to the last minute.
The context is a currency that has not responded to official warnings. Japanese authorities have warned of decisive action, but the yen has barely moved, and that lack of reaction points to the diminishing power of verbal intervention when it is not backed by actual policy tightening or direct buying of the currency.
The cost of a weak yen is already reaching consumers. Apple raised the starting price of the entry-level iPhone 17 with 256 gigabytes of storage by about 10 percent, to 142,800 yen, or roughly 879 dollars. A central bank that lifts its growth view yet holds rates while the currency stays soft is choosing to tolerate imported inflation rather than defend the exchange rate, a choice that transfers purchasing power from Japanese households to the rest of the economy.
What this means
The mechanism is the gap between rhetoric and policy. As long as the Bank of Japan keeps rates well below other major central banks, the difference in interest rates keeps the yen weak, and verbal intervention without follow-through only advertises that gap. Japanese consumers lose through higher import and device prices, exporters and inbound tourism gain, and holders of the yen face continued erosion until the bank either raises rates or intervenes with real money.
What to watch
- Whether the Bank of Japan pairs a hold with any concrete signal on future rate increases, since guidance, not the current level, is what would slow the yen's decline.
- Whether Tokyo moves from words to actual currency intervention, which would show authorities have decided the weak yen has gone too far.
Observations to monitor, not financial advice.
Synthesized from: The Japan Times · The Japan Times · The Japan Times
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