Quick preview of the BOJ meeting this week (announcement due Tuesday)

HSBC on the Bank of Japan meeting this week

The BoJ exit story remains in vogue.

• The latest iteration was a report (Wall Street Journal) that said the BoJ is optimistic that it will hit its 2% inflation target in two years and is considering how best to communicate any possible policy change.
• Citing sources familiar with the BoJ's thinking, the report says the interest rate target could theoretically be raised so long as progress towards the 2% target is assured, even if the 2% level had not been hit.
• The BoJ meeting is on 23 January where policy is likely to remain unchanged with only minor tweaks to its forecasts2 . In fact, a Bloomberg survey showed a majority expect any tightening will not happen before the end of this year.

(ps - a piece on the WSJ story is here)