15:33 JST, October 24, 2024
Washington (Jiji Press) โ Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Wednesday that the BOJ is watching monetary policy in the United States and Europe โvery carefullyโ when predicting economic and price developments in Japan.
Changes in monetary policy in other countries can sometimes have “significant effects” on Japan’s economy and inflation, he said at an event held by the International Monetary Fund in Washington.
His comments came as the BOJ has started raising interest rates while central banks in the United States and Europe are easing monetary policy.
โWe have been concerned in recent months about what could happen to the U.S. economy going forward,โ Ueda said, noting that U.S. employment numbers are โin fluxโ and that the BOJ therefore โhas yet to determine what the medium-term trend isโ for the largest economy in the world.
Stock prices saw wild swings after the BOJ Policy Board decided to hike interest rates in late July. On this, Ueda said: โI could say that there was a period in July when there was no communication, explicit or formal communication, between board members and the market or the media.โ
โIt still takes time before we can sustainably reach 2 percent inflation (in Japan),โ Ueda said.