MNI BRIEF: Core CPI To Slow In or After Mid-Year - BOJ's Ueda
MNI (TOKYO) - Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Friday that the year-on-year increase in the core consumer price index caused mainly by cost-push will slow in or after mid-year.
“We are managing monetary policy in order to achieve the 2% price target in a stable and sustainable manner,” Ueda told lawmakers at the Lower House budget committee.
He also said that the BOJ aimed to achieve price rises accompanied with wage hikes. The bank maintains accommodative environment to boost underlying inflation, which is slightly below 2%, moving toward the bank’s 2% target, he added.
The BOJ is not targeting any specific foreign exchange with monetary policy but it is closely watching the impact of fx movements on inflation, he continued.
Ueda repeated remarks that the BOJ will raise the rate further to adjust the degree of easy policy if the outlook for economy and prices is realised.
“We are clarifying the policy stance,” Ueda said.
The BOJ last week raised the policy interest rate 25 basis points to 0.50%, the first rate hike since July 2024 and for the highest level since October 2008. (See MNI BOJ WATCH: Ueda Flags More Hikes, No Clear Timeline)