Japanese Yen’s decline gained momentum following dovish comments by Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda in the post-meeting press conference. Ueda reaffirmed the central bank’s readiness to take “additional easing steps if necessary,” highlighting the “extremely high” level of uncertainty surrounding the economy.
Addressing the possibility of a policy adjustment in January meeting, Ueda downplayed the likelihood of an abrupt rate hike, stating, “I don’t think the chance is high for us to say abruptly that we will hike rates at a subsequent meeting.” He also mentioned that “we won’t see much new data” to come before the meeting, except branch managers’ meeting which will provide insights into regional economies.
Ueda spoke about various policy scenarios under consideration, recognizing the high degree of uncertainty in current economic forecasts. He noted the difficulty in outlining a clear exit strategy from the ultra-loose monetary policy due to the unpredictability of achieving sustainable and stable inflation at the target level. Ueda assured that once the BoJ foresees conditions aligning with their targets, more information will be disclosed.
 Governor Kazuo Ueda in the post-meeting press conference. Ueda reaffirmed the central bank's readiness to take "additional easing steps if necessary," highlighting the "extremely high" level of uncertainty surrounding the economy.){kind=link}