Summary of opinions from the December 17-18 meeting
- Global financial markets are unstable, risks tilted toward downside
- There is a risk that consumer price rises may be more moderate than expected due to falling oil costs
- Introduction of new steps are not monetary easing, aimed at ensuring boj can continue to buy assets smoothly
- Extending average duration of JGBs that BOJ buys is undesirable as could reduce stability of BOJ's JGB purchases
- There is a possibility that QQE may be maintained for longer than initially expected
- BOJ already buying massive amount of ETF, no need to increase purchase amount
- Worried that today's steps could be interpreted by markets as exposing limits of QQE
- MOF representative said steps decided today are necessary to ensure smooth operation of monetary policy
- Cabinet office representative said must look at various price data, including GDP deflator, in gauging price trend
Headlines via Reuters
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The Minutes of the December 17/18 meeting will be published on February 3. Today's release is a "Summary of Opinions" from that meeting, which is a new initiative from the Bank of Japan.