Nearly half of Japanese firms hurt by BOJ interest rate hikes - Reuters poll

TOKYO, July 16 : Nearly half of Japanese firms are experiencing negative business impact from the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes, with higher borrowing costs hurting bottom lines and discouraging capital investment, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday.The BOJ ended its negative interest rate policy in 2024 and last month raised its short-term policy rate to a 31-year high of 1.0 per cent from 0.75 per cent. It also signalled readiness to tighten further to tame price pressure stemming from the energy shock brought about by conflict in the Middle East.About 5 per cent of survey respondents said BOJ hikes have had a significant negative impact on operations and 44 per cent said they have had a somewhat negative effect, whereas 46 per cent said they have had no impact.The remaining 5 per