BoJ left monetary policy unchanged today as widely expected,. Under the yield curve control framework, short-term policy interest rate is held at -0.1%. The central bank will continue to purchase unlimited amount of JGBs to keep 10-year yield at around 0%, with some fluctuations allowed. Goushi Kataoka dissented again in a 7-1 vote, pushing for further strengthening monetary easing.
In the Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices, BoJ raised fiscal 2021 growth forecasts to 3.3-4.0% (median at 3.9%), up from October’s projection of 3.0-3.8% (median at 3.6%). Fiscal 2022 growth forecasts was also raised to 1.5-2.0% (median at 1.8%), from 1.5-1.8% (median at 1.6%).
Core CPI forecasts for fiscal 2021 was revised to 0.3-0.5% (median at 0.5%), from 0.2-0.6% (median at 0.4%). Fiscal 2022 core CPI was projected at 0.7-0.8% (media 0.7%), from 0.4-0.7% (median at 0.7%).
