A heads up for the BOJ meeting on Thursday and Friday this week.
- There is, of course, no change to monetary policy expected.
- And this would be the case for an extended period ahead as Japan struggles amidst various states of emergency to control its COVID-19 outbreak.
- Japan vaccination rates have been sluggish but are improving, the economy remains lacklustre amidst the waves of infections, but export performance has been a welcome support.
About the only item of interest to watch is that the BOJ is considering extending the September deadline for its pandemic relief program. A 6-month extension is the likely outcome, but the announcement may not come this month, the Bank could delay this decision to the mid-July meeting before taking August off.
There is no firmly scheduled time for the BOJ statement after the meeting but look for the 0230 to 0330GMT time window on Friday the 18th. Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda will hold his press conference from 0630 GMT that day.
