Comments from Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kuroda comments at a news conference on Friday after attending a Group of 20 finance leaders’ gathering (a joint news conference with Finance Minister Taro Aso):
- “Taken together, a weak yen is positive for Japan’s economy as long as it reflects fundamentals”
- “I don’t think there is any difference in views”
- “The effect of the tax hike is ebbing. With the job market strong and household income rising, consumption will gradually rebound”
Reuters have an article up with more – if you are trading yen or yen-related instruments its worth reading the whole thing:
Kuroda has repeatedly said a weak yen was beneficial for Japan’s economy,…
But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has recently said the government must be mindful of the de-merits of a weak yen, paying heed to growing complaints from lawmakers that the yen’s sharp declines were hurting small firms and households of their constituencies by pushing up gasoline and raw material costs.
The slight difference in tone has led some market participants to believe the BOJ and the government were sending conflicting messages on how they perceived the effect of the weak yen on the economy, a view Kuroda tried to dispel.
UPDATE 2-BOJ’s Kuroda says no gap in view with gov’t on weak yen benefits
