BoJ Leaves Policy Stance Unchanged, Optimistic On Global Economy

Having briefly injected some anxiety into markets over reported comments last week about paring back easing in 2019 (which were swiftly denied), Kuroda is likely to err on the dovish side in his comments after BoJ left all monetary policy levers unchanged.

Consensus expectations are that the BOJ to leave all its key policy settings unchanged:

• likely to keep the short-term rate at -0.1% and target for the 10-year JGB yield at around 0%
• also likely to maintain the current pace of purchases of exchange-traded funds and real estate investment trusts
• The BOJ is likely to retain its guideline on the annual pace of JGB accumulation at 80 trillion yen
• Post-meeting comments by Kuroda are likely to be calibrated to avoid stoking upward pressure on the yen. That means he’s likely to avoid specifics if asked again about how or when the BOJ could manage an exit from extreme stimulus.

And that is what we got. All policy levers unchanged.

There was one dissenter - same as before - this guy not only wanted more NIRP, but also more QE, clearly unaware that the BOJ already owns more than half of all Japanese govt bonds.

• BOJ Board Member Kataoka Votes Against Keeping Rates Unchanged
• BOJ Kataoka: Should Take Additional Easing if Delay in Hitting Inflation Target
• BOJ Kataoka: BOJ Should Lower Yields on JGBs of 10-Years and Longer

Language surrounding the global economy is more optimistic.

Read the entire article