TOKYO – Bank of Japan policymakers appeared undeterred by increasing global debate on withdrawing crisis-mode stimulus, with some calling for the need to avoid a premature tightening of monetary policy, a summary of their debate at the July meeting showed.
Stronger-than-expected inflation has taken centre stage in the policy debate among major central banks including the Federal Reserve, sparking market expectations of a gradual but steady exit from coronavirus pandemic-relief measures.
With Japan’s economy still reeling from the pandemic, the BOJ must sustain its ultra-loose policy, one board member was quoted as saying in the summary released on Wednesday.
“Rising commodity prices could push up year-on-year growth in consumer inflation. But there’s still some distance to stably achieving our 2 percent inflation target, which means it’s important to avoid a premature monetary tightening,” another opinion showed.
“In Japan, it’s necessary to patiently continue with monetary easing to meet our price goal in cooperation with the government,” a third opinion showed. – Reuters
