Bank of Japan Considering End of QE

The Bank of Japan has begun shifting its focus from supporting growth to ways of phasing out its massive stimulus, taking first tentative steps towards a potentially momentous move for the world economy.

Current and former central bankers familiar with internal discussions say an informal debate is under way on how to prepare for an exit from the BOJ’s 13-month-old “quantitative and qualitative monetary easing.”

The stimulus is a centerpiece of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s campaign to end two decades of deflation and fitful growth, and BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has vowed to keep cheap cash flowing until his 2 percent inflation target is in plain sight.

But with inflation now past the half-way mark and signs that the economy has weathered last month’s sales tax increase, Japanese central bankers are already thinking about the next chapter.

First of all, Kuroda and his team are keen to avoid market confusion and volatility that the U.S. Federal Reserve triggered in May 2013 when it first signaled the possible “tapering” of its extraordinary stimulus.

With the BOJ churning out 60-70 trillion yen per year($589-687 billion), withdrawal symptoms could be similarly acute and the lesson for the BOJ is that signaling a tapering too soon or being too specific could backfire.

via Reuters

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.