"There remains a high degree of uncertainty concerning Japan's economy, including the prospects for the European debt problem, developments in the emerging and commodity-exporting economies, and the pace of recovery in the U.S. economy"
- BOJ minutes
The members of the BOJ's monetary policy board said that the Japanese economy is moderately recovering, minutes from the recent board's meeting in the beginning of September revealed Wednesday. The nation's central bank upgraded its economic assessment amid signs that the benefits of its expansionary policy are broadening, and remained pat on its massive monetary stimulus measures. Nevertheless, the members expressed concerns that Japan's economy is not yet out of woods and continues to experience a high degree of uncertainty.
Exports have been increasing and industrial output is picking up moderately, the BoJ said. Business fixed investment is starting to rise on improvement is corporate profits, while public investment is also soaring and housing investment recovery is becoming more apparent. The central bank also noted that a yearly rate of change in the core consumer price index is now in the 0.5-1.0% range, while private consumption has remained resilient, with some improvement seen in the employment and income situation. At the meeting, the members voted unanimously to keep interest rates unchanged, while holding the goal of the monetary base expansion at an annual pace of 60-70 trillion yen. The central bank will continue to increase its Japanese government bonds purchases at annual rate of about 50 trillion yen.
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