TOKYO (MNI) – Bank of Japan board members warned that strains in
global financial markets fueled by sovereign debt problems in Europe
will be prolonged and could tip the global economy into recession, the
minutes of the BOJ’s Dec. 20-21 policy meeting showed Friday.
“Members shared the view that financial markets were likely to
remain under strain for a protracted period since there was no immediate
remedy to the sovereign debt problems in Europe,” the minutes showed.
They also said, “Some members said that, given that the presence of
European financial institutions in emerging economies were not small,
the effects on emerging economies of a possible acceleration in the
reduction of their assets were highly uncertain and therefore should be
monitored carefully.”
The BOJ board members also expressed concern over the prospects for
the global economy.
“They continued that it was therefore necessary to continue to pay
due attention to future developments because a further economic downturn
in Europe could trigger a global economic downturn,” they said.
The BOJ’s policy board at the December meeting voted unanimously to
continue the bank’s very stimulative, practically zero interest rate
policy while lowering its economic assessment, both as widely expected.
The BOJ has maintained the target for the overnight lending rate
among commercial banks at zero to 0.1% since October, 2010, when it
lowered it from around 0.1%.
But the nine-member board revised down its December economic
assessment from November, saying, “The pickup in Japan’s economic
activity has paused, mainly due to the effects of a slowdown in overseas
economies and of the appreciation of the yen.”
tokyo@marketnews.com
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