Bank of Japan officially enters the currency wars
The Bank of Japan’s stance at its July meeting is aimed at stopping the yen appreciating.

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The Bank of Japan (BoJ) today signalled readiness to expand stimulus “without hesitation” if downside risks to inflation were to rise.
Until now, the BoJ had acknowledged downside risks to both growth and inflation, but had given little explicit guidance that it would ease policy. It has kept more quiet than the Federal Reserve (Fed) and European Central Bank (ECB).
There were no major changes to the overall monetary policy framework at the BoJ’s July meeting. The short term policy rate was kept on hold at -0.1%, the 10-year government bond yield target kept at “around zero per cent”, alongside an unchanged ¥80tn annual pace of JGB purchases.
In its quarterly Outlook Report that accompanied the announcement, the BoJ yet again revised its inflation forecasts* down to 0.8% year-on-year (y/y) and 1.2% y/y in (fiscal year) 2019 and 2020, respectively. These exclude the effects of the upcoming consumption tax hike.
The growth projection for 2019 was edged down slightly to 0.7% y/y and remain unchanged at 0.9% y/y for 2020.
Ultimately, inflation well below its target is nothing new to the BoJ and its growth projections actually remain fairly healthy by Japanese standards.
Its “ready to act” stance is aimed at stopping the Japanese yen from appreciating against a backdrop of heighted expectations for easing from both the Fed and the ECB. In other words, the BoJ has officially entered the currency wars.
It is well known to investors that the BoJ has little ammunition to ease further, given that interest rates are already negative and a full blown asset purchase programme. We believe that the BoJ will be reluctant to ease further, but so far will be quite happy about its ability to keep the yen fairly stable.
This article is issued by Cazenove Capital which is part of the Schroders Group and a trading name of Schroder & Co. Limited, 1 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
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This document may include forward-looking statements that are based upon our current opinions, expectations and projections. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.
All data contained within this document is sourced from Cazenove Capital unless otherwise stated.
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