BoJ maintains status quo – Danske Bank

This morning, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept its monetary policy unchanged today as widely expected; hence it maintained its short-term policy rate at -0.1% and its target for the 10-year yield at around 0%, notes Chief Analyst, Jakob Christensen at Danske Bank.

Key Quotes

“The decision was taken with an 8-1 vote with Goushi Kataoka once again dissenting, arguing that the BoJ should be ready to do more if inflation disappoints. There were a few minor tweaks in the statement although the BoJ became slightly more upbeat on the Japanese economy. However, this is unlikely to change the policy mix, especially as inflation pressures remain weak. In our main scenario, we still expect Haruhiko Kuroda to be reappointed when his current term as governor ends in April, while we believe the BoJ will keep its current ‘QQE with yield curve control’ policy unchanged in 2018. Market reaction in USD/JPY on the initial statement was limited.”