BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told the parliament that China’s economy “slowed quite significantly in the latter half of last year”. And he predicts that it may “remain in the doldrums in the first half of this year.” Nevertheless, Kuroda expects Chinese even economy to “pick up thereafter, as authorities have taken fiscal and monetary stimulative action.”
Domestically, Kuroda expected that the net burden on households from this year’s scheduled sales tax hike to be smaller than previous hike in 2014. And he added that BOJ will be watching the impact of the sales tax hike on the economy. The impact could change depending on consumer sentiment, job and income conditions at that time.
