Reuters poll on BOJ - most expect bank to 'normalise' but growing band say more easing

Reuters polling of economist expectations for the Bank of Japan

29 of 38 still expect the BOJ's next step would be to scale back stimulus program

9 expect the BOJ to ease further … this compares with only 5 who expected further easing in the previous poll

• steps such as buying even more assets to flood the financial system with cash
• tweaking wording in forward guidance

"If the risk of a recession rises, the BOJ will likely ease further," said Hiroshi Ugai, chief economist at JPMorgan Securities Japan, one of the nine.

33 of 36 disagreed with the BOJ's insistence that inflation was maintaining momentum toward reaching 2 percent.

(Which raises the question as to what the other 3 are smoking? amirgiht?)