Goldman Sachs Also Believes: To Save the Yen, Japan Will Hike Rates in September

Goldman Sachs has significantly moved forward its expectation for a Bank of Japan rate hike to September, from a previous forecast of January 2027, while raising its terminal rate projection to 1.75%. The core logic: medium- and long-term inflation expectations are already approaching 2%, and yen depreciation pressure has replaced wage data as the most urgent variable—if USD/JPY breaks above the 160 level, maintaining the status quo would be interpreted by the market as the central bank tacitly endorsing a weaker currency, which would in turn push inflation expectations higher.