The ‘Summary’ of the Bank of Japan June 2023 meeting was indicative of a change to come at the July meeting:
While the change we got in July was minor, anything new from the Bank of Japan is significant.
Summary headlines via Reuters:
-
Members agreed BOJ must maintain current monetary easing to stably,
sustainably achieve price target - Many members said it
was appropriate to sustain monetary easing to support changes seen in
corporate wage, price-setting behaviour - One member said it
was premature to shift policy at a time companies becoming more keen
to boost wages, investment - A few members said
premature policy shift could mean BOJ will lose opportunity to
achieve price target - One member said the
chance BOJ is under-estimating sustainability of price rises cannot
be ruled out - One member said BOJ
must sustain monetary easing with an eye on side-effects of policy - Members shared the
view no need to make operational tweaks to YCC at this point
-
One member said BOJ must avoid as much as possible a spike in
interest rates caused from prospects of exit from easy policy - One member said BOJ
must consider reviewing YCC at early stage to avoid big rate
volatility upon future exit from easy policy - A few members said
when BOJ were to review YCC, it must be mindful of risk that doing so
could be seen by markets as move toward monetary tightening
-
Several members said companies continue to pass on higher import
costs, raising prices for longer period than expected - Several members said
domestic factors appear to be playing increasing role in pushing up
consumer inflation - One member said must
look at medium-, long-term inflation expectations closely as their
moves will be key to operating YCC - One member said
there was risk inflation might not fall back below 2%, remain
elevated above 2% - One member said
various indicators gauging trend inflation exceeding 2%, so there is
chance inflation may not fall back below 2% - Several members said
must be mindful of risk Japan’s economy, inflation may come under
pressure from US, Chinese, overseas economic slowdown - Many members said
risks to inflation were skewed to upside for time being
—
The Bank of Japan meeting Minutes are preceded many weeks in advance by the ‘Summary’ of the meeting.
- The “Summary of Opinions” provides a concise summary of the views expressed by Policy Board members during the meeting. It does not attribute opinions to individual members but offers a general overview of the views held by the board.
- the Minutes are a more detailed record of the meeting and include an overview of economic and financial developments in Japan, the members’ discussions and the reasons behind the decisions made. The minutes offer a more comprehensive account of the meeting, including the perspectives of individual members, which can provide more detailed insights into the policy outlook.
Bank of Japan Governor Ueda