BOJ fully prepared to end negative rate, likely in April: ex-official

The Bank of Japan is fully prepared to put an end to the world’s last negative interest rate, and April is the most likely timing for when it might do so, a former BOJ board member said.

“The BOJ is completely ready,” Makoto Sakurai said in an interview Wednesday. “They are just waiting for one last push from one or two economic data.”

April is the most likely timing for a rate hike after authorities peruse initial results of spring wage talks due in March, Sakurai said, expressing a view shared by most BOJ watchers surveyed by Bloomberg.