Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Wakatabe: most goods prices aren't rising, recent inflation driven mostly by energy, some food price hikes
- BOJ must maintain powerful monetary easing, sustain environment where wages can rise
- BOJ shouldn't rule out taking additional easing steps if risks to economy materialise
- cost-push inflation must be dealt with by means other than monetary policy
- fiscal policy, energy policy aimed at reducing Japan's reliance on oil and gas imports could be among steps to deal with cost-push inflation
- if inflation sharply exceeds central banks' targets through spiral of soaring wages and inflation expectations that could cause sustained inflation in an undesirable way
China's covid lockdowns are hurting not just China's economy but global trade and output activity through supply chain disruptions
must be mindful of risk US Fed's rate hikes and balance sheet reduction could cause global stock market adjustment, outflow of capital from emerging economies
Japan's economy showing some signs of weakness but picking up as a trend
Japan's economy likely to recover as a trend
If impact of pandemic, supply constraints lasts longer than expected, that could weigh on Japan's private spending
Japan's consumer inflation has not yet achieved BOJ’s price goal in sustained, stable manner
for Japan to achieve BOJ’s price target, prices must rise for wide range of goods backed by improvement in output gap, heightening of inflation expectations
I am doubtful the global economy will enter an era of big inflation
For Japan, I am more worried about the chance that low growth, low inflationand the low intrest rate environment will persist
