The comments today from Bank of Japan monetary policy board member Naoki Tamura were significant.
I noted especially these:
- Japan’s inflation likely to slow for time being, then accelerate moderately again
- Can’t rule out chance inflation may overshoot expectations
Reuters have followed up with a recap of his speech:
- Tamura said a sustained, stable achievement of the bank’s 2%
inflation target was now “clearly in sight,” as companies shed
their aversion to price and wage hikes. “It’s appropriate at this stage to sustain monetary easing,
and earnestly scrutinise wage and price developments,” Tamura
said a speech to business leaders in Kushiro, northern Japan. “But I’m hoping that around January through March next year,
we will have further clarity” on whether Japan can sustainably
meet the bank’s inflation target through wage and price data
available by then, he said.