REPEAT: Ex-ECB Trichet: Hard For Central Bks To Hit 2% Tgt

Repeats Story Initially Transmitted at 03:04 GMT May 29/23:04 EST May 28

     TOKYO (MNI) - Central banks in advanced economies have real difficulty

attaining their 2% inflation targets and solidly anchor inflation expectations

in the medium and long term, former European Central Ban president Jean-Claude

Trichet said Wednesday.

     "Many reasons have been listed to explain such a situation, including

intensifying global competition, weak demographics, mediocre years increase of

total factor productivity (TFP) contributing to abnormally weak real growth,"

Trichet told the 2019 Bank of Japan/Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies

Conference.

     "Japan is a case in point amongst major advance economies. It had, and

obviously still has, more difficulty than other major advanced economies to

reach its 2% target," he added.

     "I do not think that anybody can say that the BOJ did not do enough in

terms of monetary policy audacious decisions. Other factors are, in my eyes,

dominant. I see mainly three of them," Trichet said.

     He pointed to structural reforms, demographics and the general absence of

significant augmentation of nominal and real wages and salaries.

     "If I were bold enough to give advice to the Japanese public authorities

and to the private sector, I would say: Bank of Japan is not the only game in

town! Structural reforms of the economy remain of the essence. And joint efforts

made together by enterprises, organized labor and government should be decisive

to elevate unit labor costs years growth at a level consistent with the 2%

target," Trichet said.

     "I will stress that all major advanced economies, without exception,

consider that their central banks are institutions well placed to play an

important role in the prevention of systemic risks and in designing

macroprudential policy," he added.

--MNI Tokyo Bureau; tel: +81 90-2175-0040; email: hiroshi.inoue@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com