In the regular post-meeting press conference, BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said for now “the benefits of our policy still exceed the costs”. And the central bank will “continue to pursue powerful monetary easing to achieve 2% inflation.” Though, he added, “BOJ must be mindful of the impact prolonged ultra-low rates could have on financial intermediation.”
Kuroda also noted that “progress in US-China trade talks and Brexit have led to an improvement in risk sentiment”. But “uncertainty remains on the “fate” of the US-China trade talks”. Plus, “there are also geopolitical risks in the Middle East”.
“If the economy accelerates dramatically, there could be some debate. But for now, it’s appropriate to maintain our current policy stance. Various overseas risks remain, so the current monetary policy with an easy bias will be sustained for some time,” he said.
