Bank of Japan Maintains Positive Economic View

The Bank of Japan on Thursday kept its policy steady while saying the economy has been recovering despite some weakness caused by the April consumption tax hike.

The central bank will continue its massive asset purchases from financial institutions to flood the economy with more money and raise the nation’s inflation rate to 2 percent, it said after the Policy Board ended a two-day meeting. The decision by the nine-member body was unanimous.

The Japanese economy “has continued to recover moderately as a trend,” the BOJ said in a statement, maintaining its previous assessment.

The BOJ said private consumption weakened after the April 1 sales tax hike, but also underscored that it “has remained resilient” amid improving employment and income conditions. The negative effects of the tax rise “have gradually begun to wane.”

BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a press conference later in the day.

Last month, the BOJ downgraded its views on exports and production. On Thursday, it repeated those views, saying, “Exports have shown some weakness,” and that industrial output “has recently shown some weakness.”

via Mainichi

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