Bank of Japan positive about economy
(13 June 2013 – Japan) Recent turbulence in the market has not fazed the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which kept its monetary policy steady and revised its assessment of the economy.
'Japan's economy is picking up,' the BoJ said in a statement, revising up its view from last month, when it said the economy was starting to pick up.
The central bank voted unanimously to maintain its pledge of increasing base money, or cash and deposits at the BoJ at an annual pace of ¥60 trillion (A$661 million) to ¥70 trillion.
BoJ board member Takahide Kiuchi proposed that the central bank make its 2 percent inflation target a medium to long term goal, and commit to intensive easing in the next two years. This would differ from the BoJ's current commitment to hit its inflation target within two years, however Kiuchi's proposal was rejected in an 8-1 vote.
BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold an embargoed news conference later this afternoon.
The BoJ offered the world's most intense burst of stimulus on 4 April, pledging to double the supply of money in two years by boosting purchases of government bonds and risk assets.
In doing so, it switched its policy target from the overnight call rate to base money, a broad measurement of the amount of money the central bank pumps into the economy.
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