Institutions: The Bank of Japan's latest forecasts indicate there is still room for further interest rate hikes.

The Bank of Japan's new estimate of its natural interest rate suggests that the central bank still has considerable room to raise interest rates. The new data indicates that the neutral interest rate may be between 1.1% and 2.5%, while the bank's current policy rate is 0.75%. In its report on Friday, the bank stated that many of the indicators used in the latest estimate suggest that interest rates will gradually rise. This means that the upper limit of the neutral interest rate could be further increased, thus providing the Bank of Japan with greater room for further rate hikes. (Jinshi)