BoJ likely on hold at its 18-19 Monetary Policy Meet

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) will hold its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on 18-19 June. BofA Merrill Lynch expect it to maintain the current framework for monetary easing, including the scale of asset purchasing and the maturity of bonds eligible for the program.

The BoJ raised its economic assessment at its previous MPM (21-22 May). And from subsequent data, there is nothing to change the BoJ's optimistic economic assessment to any great degree. Based on Governor Kuroda's 10 June statement, the BoJ probably thinks the current yen exchange rate is within a range that does not contradict its forecast for an accelerating inflation rate. 

"We believe the BoJ will maintain its position of monitoring data to see if the actual inflation rate improves, while maintaining the current pace of asset purchasing." notes BofA Merrill Lynch