Japan's Nikkei (gated) cites unnamed sources for its assertion that the Bank of Japan will consider whether to scale back its roughly 6 trillion yen ($38 billion) in monthly Japanese Government Bond purchases.
'Consider' whether to scale back is not the same as 'will' scale back, of course. I'm not sure that 'consider' is that much of a scoop. Well, its not at all, Bloomberg had a similar 'consider' headline early last week.
Anyway, from the Nikei:
- Even if the central bank decides to cut its purchasing next week, the program "should be kept as a tool for responding to sharp gains in interest rates," said a BOJ insider. "It's important that the market remains stable," said another BOJ source.
- as it moves toward policy normalization.
The Bank meets on June 13 and 14, which is Thursday and Friday this week. Of course, the US Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meet on June 11 and 12 (Tuesday and Wednesday), and while no change in the Fed Funds is expected, future projections (dots) will be updated. These'll be eyed closely by the Bank of Japan Governor Ueda and his colleagues on the Board and more widely at the Bank. The yen is still under pressure from the gaping yield differential between the US and Japan.
The BOJ statement will be issued some time between 0230 and 0330 GMT on Friday June 14. The BoJ don't have a firmly scheduled time for the release. Bank of Japan Governor Ueda's press conference will begin at 0630 GMT, that is firmly scheduled.
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The big news today, ICYMI, is the early dip for the euro on the political wobbles in Europe:
- EU politics - French President Macron has called a snap election. EUR/USD a touch lower.
- New Zealand and the robots have taken EUR/USD under 1.0780. Snap election called in France
- Projections have centrist parties retaining majority in the European Union parliament
EUR/USD is around 1.0775 as I post. Its going to be a thinner liquidity than usual trading day: