TOKYO -- An old Japanese proverb says that after burning his mouth on hot soup, a man will blow on a cold salad. This sums up the confusion in the bond market over the Bank of Japan's recent attempts at guiding interest rates.
With the cost of money rising worldwide amid expectations of a surge in U.S. infrastructure spending, the BOJ has already bought Japanese government bonds with over five but no more than 10 years to maturity three times this month. The central bank plans only five to seven such rounds of buying for all of February.
