Japan | Inflation tanked, but new premier won’t alter BOJ course

The Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged at today’s meeting, maintaining short-term and long-term interest rates at current levels. Regarding market operations, government bond purchases remain limited and no ETF purchases have been made since mid-June.

What you will learn:

• The BoJ’s goal of raising inflation will not be helped by the rebasing of the CPI in August which has amplified the impact of the March 2021 cut in mobile phone charges.
• The BoJ will likely lower their near-term inflation forecast further in its October Outlook Report.
• A change in the ruling LDP’s leadership later in September is unlikely to affect BoJ policy.