BOJ governor Ueda vows to stay on the path of raising interest rates
- Forecasts an economic slowdown for the coming fiscal year as Middle East tensions weigh
- But overall, economic outlook remains stable although conditional on supply chain situation
- For now, Japanese economy shows moderate recovery signs despite some weakness
- That outlook assumes no major supply chain disruption though
- BOJ will keep raising interest rates while adjusting level of monetary support
- That will be according to changes in economic, price, and financial conditions
- Board member Takata recommended adding a reference that inflation target has been achieved
- Rising oil prices may have greater impact on inflation
- But policymakers need to be alert to the risk of additional economic slowdown due to supply shock
- BOJ has kept main scenario unchanged
- However, the odds are now lower for the outlook to be realised
- Will act appropriately to avoid lagging behind the curve
- But seeks more time in assessing Middle East conflict and the impact on economy, prices
- Underlying inflation remains slightly below the 2% target
The comments follow from the BOJ policy decision earlier, in which the central bank left the short-term interest rate unchanged at 0.75%. However, three policymakers – namely Takata, Tamura, and Nakagawa – dissented against the decision in voting to raise interest rates to 1.00%. As such, that saw a 6-3 vote split among the BOJ board on the decision.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.