MNI POLICY: BOJ To Extend Facilities As Needed, Kuroda says

The BOJ will extend its lending facilities if needed but a decision will not be taken until nearer March 31, when the current facilities are due to expire, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Thursday, although he declined to comment when that decision could be, saying it was dependant on corporate financing developments and banks' lending attitude.

He said the BOJ kept the policy under constant observation, but noted any extension, if forthcoming, would be on the same terms as current.

Speaking to the press following the Bank of Japan's latest policy meeting, Kuroda again said he saw no need to change the BOJ's 2% price target and that goal remains appropriate. He didn't think recent declines in prices due to government plans would lead to a change in underlying price trends, despite the 2021 Outlook downgrade.

MARKETS

With one eye on next week's U.S. Presidential election, Kuroda said the BOJ is watching major global events and their impact on financial markets

Asked about forex moves, Kuroda said the forex rate has "been moving in a tight range and is relatively stable, compared with stock and bond markets", indicating the same direction of monetary and fiscal policies by the U.S. and Japan is behind a stable dollar/yen rate.

Kuroda sees no need of changing the frequency and the scale of longer-end JGB buying, although the supply-demand conditions will become tighter as life insurance firms increase their purchases of longer-end bonds.

The governor also attempted to justify the BOJ's ETF buying, saying the bank continues buying ETFs in a flexible manner and would continue with purchases to lower risk premium under the current policy framework.