Members of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy board said that Japan’s economic recovery continues be on track, minutes from the bank’s October 6-7 meeting revealed on Thursday.
The board conceded that exports and production have been affected by a slowdown in many of the emerging economies.
“Risks to the outlook include developments in the emerging and commodity-exporting economies, the prospects regarding the debt problem and the momentum of economic activity and prices in Europe, and the pace of recovery in the U.S. economy,” the minutes said.
The members added that inflation is expected to remain close to flat for the foreseeable future because of weak energy prices.
The central banks inflation target remains at 2 percent as it looks for finally shake the deflation that has plagued the country for years.
“Inflation expectations appear to be rising on the whole from a somewhat longer-term perspective,” the minutes said.
At the meeting, the central bank refrained from adding more monetary stimulus, maintaining its target of raising the monetary base at an annual pace of about JPY 80 trillion. The bank also left its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0.10 percent.
“Quantitative and qualitative monetary easing (QQE) has been exerting its intended effects, and the bank will continue with QQE, aiming to achieve the price stability target of 2 percent, as long as it is necessary for maintaining that target in a stable manner. It will examine both upside and downside risks to economic activity and prices, and make adjustments as appropriate,” the bank said.
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