MNI BRIEF: BOJ Keeps Economic, Major Components View
MNI (TOKYO) - The Bank of Japan maintained its view that Japan’s economy is likely to keep growing at a pace above its potential growth rate, with overseas economies continuing to strengthen moderately, following the Board's decision Wednesday to hold the Policy Rate at 0.5%.
The assessment on major economic components, such as exports, industrial production and private consumption, was also left from the previous meeting.
"Overseas economies have grown moderately on the whole,” the BOJ repeated, despite uncertainties over the global economy. “Private consumption has been on a moderate increasing trend despite the impact of price rises and other factors."
Bank officials are paying attention to whether the recent worsening of consumer sentiment will cause a fall in consumer spending, although wages are expected to rise in or after April.
“Inflation expectations have risen moderately,” the BOJ repeated, noting attention must also be given to developments in financial and foreign exchange markets and their impact on Japan’s economic activity and prices.