BOJ expected to lift GDP forecast for fiscal 2016 and 2017 - Nikkei

Japanese daily, the Nikkei, came out with a brief preview of the BOJ quarterly economic outlook report, which will be accompanied by the monetary policy decision scheduled on Jan 31st.

 Key Points:

BOJ expected to lift GDP forecast for fiscal 2016 and 2017 (says expect 2017 to be in the mid-1% range)

This compares with the November forecasts of 1% in fiscal 2016, fiscal 2017 at 1.3% and fiscal 2018 at 0.9%

The BOJ is more sanguine on improving exports & production, also on recovering consumer spending

Concerns over foreign economies have receded

Domestic consumption improving

Better hiring & increased income

BOJ is "deeply cautious" about raising inflation outlooks

The BOJ forecasts the CPI (excluding fresh food) to fall 0.1% for fiscal 2016, then up 1.5% in fiscal 2017 and 1.7% in fiscal 2018