Yen is mostly lower today against its major counterparts following the latest release of BOJ minutes. Even though there are some concerns about the aggressive monetary easing policy being pursued by the central bank, most of the policymakers are expressing confidence in the bank’s decision.
Recently, the Bank of Japan announced a plan to double the monetary base in the next two years and aim for an inflation target of two per cent. The move is designed to end the deflation that has been prevalent in Japan and get the economy going.
However, with the release of the BOJ minutes from the last meeting, there is evidence that some board members have some misgivings. Concerns that banks might not lend with interest rates too low, as well as concerns about returns on pension funds and life insurance, were voiced.
Even with those worries, though, overall confidence in the plan hatched by Kuroda and Abe is high. As a result, it looks as though more yen weakness is on the way, and the performance of the Asian currency against its counterparts underscores that.
At 14:08 GMT USD/JPY is up to 97.8620 from the open at 97.3910. EUR/JPY is down to 128.1450 from the open at 128.3550. GBP/JPY is up to 152.1420 from the open at 151.4950.
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