There is no set time for the BOJ statement today, Friday 18 March 2022, but the 0230 to 0330 GMT time window is a good bet.
There is no change expected for the main components of policy:
Analyst preview via Scotia:
- decision is likely to reference downside risks given the country’s heavy dependence upon imported commodities and namely oil.
- An imported relative price shock is more likely to be viewed as disinflationary on second round effects than inflationary by the BoJ while it keeps policy instruments unchanged at this point
via TD:
- The BoJ meeting is likely to be a non-event though there is a strong likelihood that the Bank downgrades its economic assessment.
via Citi:
- The focus will be on Governor Kuroda’s view about the recent depreciation of the yen, given media reports that the Kishida administration is increasingly concerned about yen weakness. However, Kuroda's recent comments tying BoJ policy to a covid recovery suggest an end to NIRP or shift to a shorter YCC target maturity (from 10yr to 5yr) are unlikely as responses to yen depreciation. Widening the target range for the 10yr JGB yield (currently +/-0.25%) may be an option though the BoJ has conducted fixed-rate operations in 2022 to keep yields below the upper end of this range (+25bps) and a sudden move to widen the target range in response to yen depreciation would therefore reduce confidence in the BoJ's commitment.
Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda's press conference follows the Bank's statement later in the Tokyo day, at 0630 GMT.
