Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Fumio Kishida said in an appearance on Friday that he acknowledged the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) December policy decision was an operational tweak to enhance and sustain monetary easing effects smoothly.
He added that “I am to select an appropriate BoJ governor with an eye on the economy.”
Additional comments
“Economy’s falling back to deflation cannot be ruled.”
“Domestic demand-driven inflation remains weak.”
“Inflationary pressure based on domestic demand is not strong yet, as current consumer price increases are brought by global raw material inflation and a weak yen.”
Market reaction
USD/JPY is off the lows, currently trading at 129.75, down 0.34% on the day. The pair is weighed down by hotter Japanese Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
