Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said that there are both positives and negatives to the weak yen’s impact, suggesting he’s determined to keep stimulus unchanged for now despite heightened concerns over the yen.
While it’s true that a weak yen amplifies negative economic impacts by lifting up import prices, it also helps boost exports including inbound spending, and lifts global businesses’ profits, Ueda said in response to questions in parliament Friday.
“It’s hard to definitely say that a current weak yen is negative for the economy,” Ueda said.
BOJ watchers are closely looking at the direction of the yen, especially after Ueda acknowledged that volatility in foreign exchange rates is a factor the bank considered before tweaking its yield curve control program in July. But by taking a neutral stance on the yen’s current state, Ueda appears to be suggesting that there’s still room for stimulus to stay at this point.
While fielding accusations from lawmakers that monetary easing is triggering yen depreciation and exacerbating the inflationary hit on households, Ueda stuck with his stance that the BOJ will maintain its ultra loose policy until its inflation target is in sight.
The Japanese currency was traded at around 150.50 per dollar shortly after Ueda spoke, staying near the key level of 151.95 which was reached in 1990. The yen has been the biggest loser against the dollar among major currencies this year, as investors remained focused on rate differentials.
The BOJ has stuck with the world’s last negative rate policy, while the Federal Reserve is seen to be on a “higher and longer” rate path.
Still, Ueda has refrained from taking the same position as his predecessor Haruhiko Kuroda. Kuroda often accelerated the momentum of the yen’s fall by saying that it’s positive for the economy overall, seemingly endorsing the depreciation. That’s a phrase Ueda hasn’t used since taking the BOJ’s helm in April.
