BoJ's Ueda: Outcome of spring wage negotiations was big factor for the rate hike
|Following the Bank of Japan's first historic interest rate hike at the March policy meeting, BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda is addressing a post-policy meeting press conference on Tuesday.
Additional quotes
Likelihood of achieving 2.0% inflation target is still not 100% but it's rising.
Stock effect of BoJ’s JGB holdings on long-term rates cannot be ignored.
But we will not use JGB buying operations, balance adjustment as proactive monetary policy tool.
Mindful of risks of sudden spikes in interest rates.
We always have taylor rules in mind when conducting monetary policy.
Outcome of spring wage negotiations was big factor.
We have come to a phase where we can slowly proceed with possible rate hikes, which I think is appropriate.
'Easy monetary environment' is defined as actual interest rate is lower than neutral rate of interest.
If price outlook overshoots or shows possibility of overshooting that could lead to change in monetary policy.
We conducted hearings with companies smaller than the ones we usually survey in our tankan.
Closely watching whether trend of big wage hikes could broaden among small firms.
Not necessarily confident enough that wages at smes will rise.
No comment on short-term currency moves.
Will consider monetary policy response if currencies cause big impact on economy, prices.
Don't think new policy can be called zero interest rate policy.
Don't know if latest step can be characterised as a 'normalization'.
As whether he had any hesitation about today's decision, says uncertainties over wages, consumption remain.
Don't have preconceived notion of which would come first, reduction of bond buying or rate hikes.
Market reaction
USD/JPY was last seen trading at 150.37, adding 0.83% on the day.
Bank of Japan FAQs
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is the Japanese central bank, which sets monetary policy in the country. Its mandate is to issue banknotes and carry out currency and monetary control to ensure price stability, which means an inflation target of around 2%.
The Bank of Japan has embarked in an ultra-loose monetary policy since 2013 in order to stimulate the economy and fuel inflation amid a low-inflationary environment. The bank’s policy is based on Quantitative and Qualitative Easing (QQE), or printing notes to buy assets such as government or corporate bonds to provide liquidity. In 2016, the bank doubled down on its strategy and further loosened policy by first introducing negative interest rates and then directly controlling the yield of its 10-year government bonds.
The Bank’s massive stimulus has caused the Yen to depreciate against its main currency peers. This process has exacerbated more recently due to an increasing policy divergence between the Bank of Japan and other main central banks, which have opted to increase interest rates sharply to fight decades-high levels of inflation. The BoJ’s policy of holding down rates has led to a widening differential with other currencies, dragging down the value of the Yen.
A weaker Yen and the spike in global energy prices have led to an increase in Japanese inflation, which has exceeded the BoJ’s 2% target. Still, the Bank judges that the sustainable and stable achievement of the 2% target has not yet come in sight, so any sudden change in the current policy looks unlikely.
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