BOJ chief Ueda to skip Jackson Hole, shifts market focus to G20

TOKYO, Aug 26 : Bank of Japan board member Naoki Tamura will attend the U.S. Federal Reserve's annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this week on behalf of Governor Kazuo Ueda, the central bank said on Wednesday.

Ueda will not attend the conclave this week due to scheduling conflicts, the BOJ said. There will be no media opportunity for Tamura during the meeting, it said.

It is rare for a BOJ board member to participate in the Jackson Hole meeting, which is typically attended by the governor or one of the central bank's two deputy governors.

A former commercial banker, Tamura is seen as a hawk on the nine-member board and has publicly called for raising interest rates once every few months to counter upside risks to prices.

What new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh might say about the outlook for U.S. monetary policy in his debut speech at Jackson Hole would have huge repercussions for Japan due to swings in the yen and bond yields, analysts say.

Ueda's absence at Jackson Hole will put the spotlight on his possible appearance at next week's U.S.-hosted G20 finance leaders' gathering in Asheville, North Carolina.

Market participants are on the lookout for hints from BOJ policymakers about whether the central bank could speed up the pace and timing of rate hikes to cope with mounting inflationary risks.

While the BOJ has not disclosed whether Ueda will attend the G20 gathering, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said he was looking forward to meeting the BOJ chief in Asheville.

A joint U.S.-Japan yen intervention and a nudge from Bessent has led markets to near fully price in the chance of a September rate hike by the BOJ, which would follow one in June.

A majority of economists polled by Reuters expect the BOJ to raise its policy rate to 1.25 per cent from 1 per cent at the September 17 and 18 meeting.

BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino will also deliver a speech and hold a news conference on Thursday, where he could deliver signs about the likelihood of a rate hike next month.