BOJ Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田 和男) pointed out that underlying inflation had come quite close to 2%, while indicating that the Bank would discuss and reach a conclusion at the October meeting on whether 2% had been reached.
Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田 和男) said that underlying inflation was approaching 2%, while stating that the Bank would discuss among its policy board members and reach a conclusion at the October Monetary Policy Meeting on whether the target had been reached. At a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, the destination of his current trip, he expressed his views on the outlook for economic activity and prices.
He said that data since the September meeting had generally been moving in line with the outlook, and explained that although the Bank had exchanged views with various officials, it did not believe that any important contradictory information had been provided. Governor Ueda Kazuo (植田 和男) stressed that stopping the rise in underlying inflation was a major policy objective.
He said the Bank was paying particularly close attention to developments in the situation in the Middle East and AI-related demand, and also indicated that some officials viewed AI demand as relatively strong. The Bank plans to discuss the Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices at its October meeting.
Regarding rate hikes and adjustments to the degree of monetary accommodation, he reaffirmed the policy of considering these in light of economic, price and financial conditions, while determining the appropriate timing and pace. He said there was no clear evidence that could definitively identify the position of the neutral interest rate.