"If the risks you have mentioned ever materialize, we will not hesitate to adjust the current quantitative and qualitative easing"
- Haruhiko Kuroda, BoJ Governor
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is keen on simple, easily digestible language to explain complex monetary policy and central bank's actions to support growth. The chosen strategy has already succeeded in maximizing the psychological impact of each move.
During the last week's meeting the central bank announced the doubling of its funding tool to 7 trillion yen, saying private banks will be able to borrow twice as much low-interest money as earlier under a second facility. Such a measure helped turn around the sentiment among investors, boosting Japanese indexes higher and pushing the Yen lower. The move was widely expected by markets as it follows disappointing data showed a slowdown in the nation's economic growth. Nevertheless, the simplification of Kuroda's communication approach does not mean he focuses on just one set of data-GDP report. People close to the central bank said the BoJ will chose its course of future actions after examining the growth for the current financial year ending in March. In case GDP will be below 2.7% official projection the central bank may be willing to respond to economic slowdown by introducing fresh stimulus. In case Kuroda means what his comments suggests, that additional stimulus is practically inevitable, taking into account the economy posted a 1% growth in the final quarter, well below markets' forecasts. In case it will not be upwardly revised, the economy will have to grow around 10% in the January-March period to meet the target.
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