BOJ April minutes confirm the Bank will ease further if necessary, without hesitation

Bank of Japan April 2022 meeting minutes

Minutes are preceded many weeks in advance by the summary,:

Headlines via Reuters:

  • Board members agreed no change to BOJ’s stance of taking additional easing steps without hesitation if needed
  • One member said rising raw material costs would hurt economy so must keep powerful monetary easing
  • One member said japan’s monetary policy challenge is to address too-low inflation, unlike in western economies
  • One member said inappropriate to change monetary policy stance as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine adds downside risks to japan’s economy
  • One member said BOJ must remain mindful of the need to make its monetary framework sustainable as ultra-loose policy likely to be prolonged
  • Several members said forex should move in stable manner reflecting fundamentals
  • A few members said recent short-term excessive forex volatility could make it hard for firms to set business plans
  • Several members said must communicate to markets that BOJ conducts monetary policy to achieve price stability, not at controlling forex moves
  • One member said BOJ must look not at commodity, forex moves themselves, but the impact they have on economy and prices

  • One member said weak yen is positive for Japan’s economy at a time like now, when output gap remains big, inflation trend is very low

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