The Bank of Japan (BoJ) board members shared their views on the monetary policy outlook on Wednesday, per the BoJ Minutes of the October 29-30 meeting.    

Key quotes

Members agreed BOJ will continue to raise rates if economic price forecasts materialize. 

Many members said likelihood of economic and price forecast materialising has heightened but must maintain policy to confirm a bit more whether positive wage-setting behaviour will not be disrupted. 

Cabinet Office representative said hope BOJ works closely with government, take appropriate monetary policy to stably and sustainably achieve its price target. 

Ministry of Finance representative says hope Bank of Japan watches economic developments and closely communicates with markets in guiding policy to stably, sustainably hit price target. 

Many members said likelihood of economic and price forecast materialising has heightened but must maintain policy to confirm a bit more whether positive wage-setting behaviour will not be disrupted. 

Board members Tamura, Takata proposed raising policy rate to 0.75% from 0.5%, which was turned down by 2-7 vote. 

One member said strong chance Japan can be judged to have achieved BOJ price target around spring next year, when it will likely see wage gains needed for achievement of price goal. 

A few members said underlying inflation is gradually accelerating but has not yet hit 2%. 

One member said fiscal policy is a significant factor in setting economic and price forecasts. 

One member stated corporate and household inflation expectations have already reached 2%, must be mindful of upside price risk. Several members stated yen falls could cause inflation overshoot through rising import prices.  

Market reaction to the BoJ Minutes 

At the time of writing, USD/JPY is down 0.15% on the day at 156.06.