Japan raises interest rates to 31-year high as central bankers fight inflation; retail sales rise in Great Britain – business live

Key events

The yen is defying the logic that a rise in interest rates should support a currency.

Instead, the yen has dropped to a two-week low against the dollar today. It’s down over 1% today to ¥157.90.

Traders are selling the yen after noting that two policy makers at the Bank of Japan declined to support today’s interest rate rise. That could limit the prospect of the BoJ raising interest rates faster.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, says BoJ governor Ueda has not sounded as hawkish as expected today:

Ueda has confused the market today with both hawkish and dovish signals, he has said that Japan is entering a new policy-making stage, but has also warned against rapid rate hikes that trigger asset price volatility. This highlights the BOJ’s dilemma, on the one hand they need to raise rates to stabilize inflation, but Japan has a huge government debt load and they cannot upset the bond market for fear of triggering global financial market instability.

Anyone looking for Japanese funds and individuals to embark on mass capital repatriation on the back of this rate hike have been proved wrong, the yen is weaker today and Japanese bond yields are lower across the curve.

Britons are increasingly worried about the climate emergency, and job security.

New data from the Office for National Statistics shows:

• The proportion of adults reporting climate change and the environment as an important issue (62%) has increased since June 2026 (53%). This is currently the highest it has been since late 2024.

• The proportion of adults reporting employment as an important issue has been increasing over time. Between 5 to 30 August 2026, just over half (54%) of adults reported employment as an important issue. This was higher when compared with similar periods in 2025 and 2024.

UK mortgage rates have crept a little higher today, even though the Bank of England left interest rates on hold yesterday.

Moneyfacts reports that the average 2-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.84%, up from 5.83% yesterday. That’s the highest since 21 May.

The average 5-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.88%, up from 5.87% yesterday. That’s the highest rate since 29 October 2023

Mothercare facing “highly uncertain” future as Middle Eastern partner plans store closures

Mothercare has warned it faces a “highly uncertain” future after its Middle East franchise partner revealed it was set to close most of its franchised stores across the region next year.

The troubled baby products group said it was a “heavy blow” for the firm and has now launched an urgent strategic review, adding that it has sufficient resources to trade for “a number of months”

Clive Whiley, chairman of Mothercare, told shareholders this morning:

“Whilst our recent financial performance has been resilient, this is a heavy blow to the Mothercare business and our stakeholders. We will continue to pursue discussions to restore critical mass and value for stakeholders, against this more difficult backdrop.”

Investors are taking fright, knocking Mothercare’s share down by 67% in early trading.

BoJ governor Ueda give press conference - the key quotes

Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda is giving a press conference in Tokyo now, to explain today’s decision to hike interest rates.

Reuters has helpfully collated some of the important quotes

ON 50-BP OR BACK-TO-BACK RATE HIKES:

“That depends on how ​price conditions develop. There could be ‌various possibilities. We shouldn’t ‌rule anything out.“

“We’re at a phase where we need to look at various data carefully. ‌But that doesn’t mean we can move slowly. We will analyse data carefully and take timely action as needed.“

“As for the pace of future rate hikes, we don’t have any pre-set idea in mind such as once every three months. We will determine at each policy meeting how best to ensure underlying inflation stabilises ‌at 2%.“

RISK FACTORS:

“If the renewed rise in energy costs persists, that could add further pressure to wholesale inflation and then consumer inflation. That’s something ​we need to look out for.“

FINANCIAL CONDITIONS:

“Financial conditions are becoming less accommodative as we raise rates ... It’s important to avoid financial conditions from tightening too much, or to cause a big adjustment in asset prices, by raising rates too sharply.“

NEUTRAL RATE UNCERTAIN:

“It is hard ⁠to pinpoint where the neutral rate is, and therefore the terminal rate. ​It might be the ​case that as we adjust policy ​as appropriate, we will know where those rates sit ex-ante.“

ON INFLATION:

“Up till ​now, our short-term ‌policy focus was ​to push ​up underlying inflation from levels below 2%. Now, underlying inflation is approaching 2%. If risks of underlying inflation overshooting 2% materialise, that could have a negative impact on Japan’s economy. It’s important to stabilise underlying inflation at 2%. Our policy phase has changed.“

Fuel sales dropped again, down 1.7% in August and 2.5% across the three month period, as motorists cut back on non-essential journeys following major increases in the price of petrol and diesel since the start of the Iran conflict in February.

That followed a jump in sales volumes in March, when motorists stocked up on fuel after the conflict in the Middle East broke out,

Oil falling back to $100 a barrel

The oil price has dropped by 2% this morning, pushed down by hopes that supply disruptions from Saudi Arabia may not be as severe as feared.

Brent crude has dropped to $102.55 a barrel, following reports that Saudi authorities hope to bypass a damaged section of its 1,200-km East-West Pipeline and restore roughly half its capacity within days.

That pipe was damaged in an attack last week which drove oil up over the $100/barrel mark, as traders anticipated significant disruption to supplies.

A drop in the oil price would cheer households, businesses and central bankers alike!

A chart showing sales volumes in Great Britain rose over the three months to August Photograph: ONS

The ONS also reports that sales at British department stores picked up in August following “stock availability issues” in July.

Retail sales rise across Great Britain

Despite the inflationary squeeze on households, retail sales across Great Britain have risen over the summer.

The heatwave, a pick-up in web shopping, and the joys (and pain and disappointment!) of the men’s football World Cup, helped to lift spending over the three months to August, new data shows.

Retail sales volumes rose by 0.9% in the June-August quarter, the Office for National Statistics has reported this morning.

Non-store retailers’ sales volumes rose following a particularly strong June period – perhaps because people preferred to order goods online rather than braving the high street in the heatwave.

Retailers selling alcohol and beverages performed well across all three months to August, which they attributed to promotions, the hot weather, and the World Cup.

In August alone, retail sales volumes rose by 0.5%, reversing a 0.5% drop in July.

August’s rise is unexpected (economists had forecast a 0.2% fall), so this is the latest piece of economic data to beat expectations after last week’s jump in UK GDP.

ONS senior statistician Jon Gough said:

“Retail sales increased in the latest three months, with a particularly strong June for online outlets helping to boost their sales across the period. Food store sales also rose, with supermarkets doing well in July and August.

“Meanwhile, retailers selling alcohol and beverages performed well across all three months, which they attributed to promotions, the hot weather and the World Cup.”

Introduction: Japan joins the rate-hiking party, as Bank of England lurks

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.

The global interest rate rising cycle has spun again today, after the Bank of Japan decided to raise interest rates to their highest level in 31 years.

The BoJ voted to raise its target interest rate by a quarter of one percentage point to 1.25%, the highest level since 1995. The vote was not unanimous – with two board members dissenting to the hike.

The move meant the BoJ has joined the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank in tightening monetary policy this month, as part of the global fight against inflation.

But the Bank of England is, so far, resisting joining the battle, having yesterday voted to leave UK interest rates on hold at 3.75%.

The BoJ has been in a rate-rising cycle since 2024, when it lifted its policy rate out of negative territory. It has been under pressure to raise borrowing costs as the yen weakened steadily against the dollar this year, to levels which prompted policymakers to intervene to stabilise the currency.

A hike today had been expected. So the news that two BoJ policymakers opposed the move has excited the markets.

Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank, reports:

So although the central bank reiterated that it will continue raising rates if economic and inflation conditions evolve as projected, the market has reacted to the two high profile dissenters. The Yen is -0.72% lower at 157.10, having been at around 153.40 at the start of the week and the JGB curve has steepened, with 2yrs -2.2bps and 30yrs +3.2bps

The agenda

• 7am BST: Retail sales data across Great Britain for August

• 10am BST: Eurozone construction output for July