According to an interview by Yomiuri newspaper, BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned that risks to economic recovery in Japan is high. He pointed to the increasing coronavirus infections outside of Tokyo, the capital city. The central bank is considering the extend the March 2021 deadline for lending facilities that supports companies hit by the pandemic. Kuroda also reiterated the options of further easing, including expanding loan scheme, cutting short-, long-term rate targets, ramping up ETF buying etc.
Separately, Tokyo CPI climbed to 0.6% yoy in July, up from 0.3% yoy. CPI core also rose to 0.4% yoy, up from 0.2% yoy, beat expectation of 0.2% yoy. Monetary base rose 9.8% yoy in July, well above expectation of 6.3% yoy.
