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Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kikuo Iwata, supporter of aggressive money printing in the nine-member board, shrugged off the view the BOJ was now putting less emphasis on pumping money. Iwata stressed that the BOJ will continue its large-scale asset purchases after it introduced a new policy framework that targets interest rates in September.
Iwata's remarks contradict BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's view on tackling Japan's deflation, exposing rifts on BoJ nine-member board nine-member board. Kuroda has said the central bank may slow the pace of money printing if it can hit its interest rate targets, set under a policy revamp in September, with fewer asset purchases.
“There is no room for doubt that this policy was effective in overcoming deflation,” Iwata said Wednesday. “However, it is true that the price stability target of 2 percent has not been achieved yet, unfortunately, despite the unprecedented large-scale monetary easing.”
The BOJ is scheduled to hold its next policy meeting on Dec. 19 to 20. And the gap in view between Kuroda and Iwata, one of his two deputy governors, may complicate the BOJ's task of communicating its policy intentions to markets as it struggles to reflate growth with its dwindling policy options.
At 1200 GMT, FxWirePro's Hourly Currency Strength Index of Japanese Yen was slightly bearish at -63.4679, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at -43.5753. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex.
