BOJ Board Member Noguchi Calls for Cautious Approach on Future Policy-Tightening

By Megumi Fujikawa

The Bank of Japan should proceed carefully with further monetary policy changes, as domestic inflation still isn't very strong, board member Asahi Noguchi said.

"The pace of adjustments in our policy interest rate is expected to be incomparably slower than recent examples of other major central banks, " Noguchi said in a speech Thursday.

He said it would take some more time before underlying inflation reaches and stays around the central bank's 2% target.

In March, the central bank decided to end easing measures, including negative interest rates and its target for the 10-year Japanese government bond yield.

Noguchi voted against lifting short-term interest rates, saying the central bank should examine the virtuous cycle of wages and prices more carefully, and avoid terminating negative interest rates and yield curve control at the same time.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 17, 2024 22:34 ET (02:34 GMT)

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