BoJ Deputy Governor Masazumi Wakatabe said in a speech, the Japan economy has remained in a “severe state”. But the bank judged that “pick-up trend in the economy as a whole has been maintained, supported by positive developments in the corporate sector on the back of a firm recovery in overseas economies”.
“Positive developments are likely to spread from the corporate sector to the household sector as the impact of COVID-19 wanes gradually, mainly due to progress with vaccinations,” he added. “The economic recovery is expected to become clear.”
The key to realizing the positive outlook is “whether a virtuous cycle operates firmly”. That is, “whether an increase in domestic and overseas demand expands household income and corporate profits, and in turn leads to a further rise in spending”.
ECB de Guindos: Better economic performance to be reflected in new projections
ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos told a Spanish newspaper, “the economy is performing better in 2021 than we expected, and this will be reflected in the projections that will be published in the coming days.”
“If inflation and the economy recover, then there will logically be a gradual normalization of monetary policy, and of fiscal policy too,” he added.