OK, this is from Fitch, and well, …. OK bear with me …. this from the raters:
- The pace of asset purchases by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has continued to slow sharply in 2018 to an annual rate of around JPY45 trillion (USD410 billion) despite the official commitment to annual purchases of around JPY80 trillion.
- While BOJ monetary policy remains extremely accommodative and the scale of asset purchases is still large, this "stealth" tapering is occurring as the European Central Bank (ECB) has recently announced its intention to phase out QE by the end of this year, the Fed's balance sheet shrinks at an increasing pace and the Bank of England (BOE) has lowered the threshold for interest rates above which it will start reducing its balance sheet.
- BOJ purchases are expected to continue to step down over the next few years
Um, well, yeah. But this 'stealth' is not really very stealthy. If this is new to you …. may I humbly suggest reading more ForexLive? I've been going on about this for well over a year now!
Yes, the target is 80tln yen each year. The BOJ is not even close and everyone knows it.
The BOJ seems to be avoiding making public comment (such as confirming the change in policy) for fear it'll strengthen the yen. They'll probably give it another year until its on breakfast telly or something and then announce it and then no one will be surprised and the yen won't budge.
Carry on
ps. Here is me making my stealthy way to an AC/DC concert
