BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda emphasized today that the central bank’s inflation forecasts must be “quite strong and close to 2%” within the coming year for the bank to consider adjusting its yield curve control policy.
Speaking to parliament, Ueda said that as “trend inflation is below 2%,” BoJ must maintain its current monetary easing stance. However, he noted that when trend inflation is projected to reach 2% target, the central bank must normalize monetary policy.
When asked about the specifics of how BoJ might phase out YCC, Ueda opted not to provide explicit details, clarifying that such a decision would hinge on a variety of factors, encompassing the economy, inflation pace, and other elements at the time of the verdict.
“At this moment, I cannot provide a definitive answer regarding how this could be executed,” he said, touching upon BoJ’s exit strategy. Nonetheless, Ueda reassured that ” BOJ has actively been conducting numerous evaluations on the potential impact of a monetary policy normalization on its financial situation.”