Japan August industrial production (final) MoM -2.4%, prior -1.7%.

TIMIRAOS said September core CPI (ex-food and energy) rose 0.33% MoM, above nearly all Wall Street forecasts and up from 0.29% in August, marking a second consecutive month of stronger-than-expected inf. He said the report reinforces the case for the Federal Reserve to raise rates again this year; Fed officials unanimously voted to hike last month and most had expected one more increase in the year. The release raises two policy questions: whether officials can wait until December to act after saying they do not expect to change rates at the meeting in two weeks, and how high policy rates ultimately need to go — a judgement that depends on whether rising energy costs and AI-driven investment pressures spread into the broader economy. Officials have not signalled they would revise plans based on a single report.

BANK OF JAPAN policy board member Koeda said she believes the neutral interest rate is well above 1% and that 1% is roughly the lower bound of the expected range.