© Reuters. The Japanese flag on the headquarters of the Bank of Japan in Tokyo on September 20, 2023. Credit: Issei Kato-Reuters.
From Leica Kihara
TOKYO (Reuters) – A summary of the Bank of Japan’s Dec. 18-19 meeting showed that policymakers at the bank see the need to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy for now, and some of them called for a deeper discussion about future abandonment of the policy.
“Given the future abandonment of current monetary policy, it is necessary to study the positive effects and side effects of yield curve control and negative interest rate policy, as well as consider addressing them,” the summary published on Wednesday quoted a member as saying.
Another opinion in the summary said the timing of the shift away from the Bank of Japan’s ultra-loose policy was “approaching” given the growing likelihood that Japan will meet the bank’s 2 percent inflation target in a sustainable manner.
“To avoid the risk of higher prices hurting consumption and undermining the opportunity to achieve our price target, we must not miss the opportunity to change monetary policy,” the opinion said.
At the meeting held on December 18-19, the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-loose policy unchanged, which includes pledges to take further easing steps as needed.
(Prepared by Mahmoud Reda Murad for the Arabic Bulletin)
2023-12-27 02:11:00
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