Japan finance minister Suzuki:
- won't comment on any BOJ policy steps to be taken
- its up to the Bank of Japan to decide specifics of monetary policy
- this year's wage negotiations yielding record-high wage growth so far
- we are clearly seeing good signs in the economy such as robust corporate spending appetite
- the government will deploy various policies so that positive momentum in wages continues
Suzuki making comments supportive of a Bank of Japan tightening. The meeting announcement is due sometime in the 0230 to 0330 GMT time window. The news flow of a March pivot has been relentless, the Bank of Japan has not appeared to push back against these reports, and yet there is still a niggling doubt that the Bank will wait until April.
Pivot for:
- BOJ to end yield curve control and ETF purchases -- Nikkei
- BOJ to end NIRP and YCC, "a done deal" - here's what might be a dovish surprise
Pivot against:
- It's a close call, but not everyone expects the Bank of Japan to tighten policy today
- Bank of Japan won't tighten policy - here's why they'll wait until April
Bank of Japan Governor Ueda
