BoJ’s May minutes to focus more on its inflation outlook

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) scheduled to release the minutes of its 21-22 May meeting on 24 June. 

The central bank kept the annual increase in the monetary base unchanged at JPY 80tn at this meeting. The post-meeting statement suggests that it is  slightly more upbeat on the economy following the Q1 GDP data release. 

Kuroda said after the meeting that he expects GDP growth of 1.0% y/y this year, versus c.0.5% currently. 

However, the market may focus more on the board's inflation outlook, says Standard Chartered. Several board members raised concerns about the inflation target at the 30 April meeting.

Kuroda believes the level of oil prices will determine when the 2% inflation target is achieved, and said he will steer policy to keep inflation at "around" 2%