BOJ drops inflation target date

Apr 28 (NHK) - Policymakers at the Bank of Japan have decided to continue their massive easing program.

But they have made some changes to their outlook on inflation. They are no longer saying when they expect to reach their 2-percent target.

Central bank officials released their latest quarterly economic report on Friday. They have downgraded their inflation forecast for the current fiscal year 0.1 percentage point to 1.3 percent.

Their projection for fiscal 2019 and 2020 was maintained at 1.8 percent. In a previous report they projected the 2-percent target would likely be reached around fiscal 2019.

BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda explained why the bank didn't give a specific date. He said some market players mistook the timeframe as a deadline and erroneously linked changes in the timeframe to changes in monetary policy.

Kuroda said it's still possible that inflation will rise to about 2 percent around fiscal 2019.

But some analysts say the elimination shows how hard it is to achieve the inflation target despite aggressive monetary easing.

The BOJ launched the program in 2013 and pledged to achieve its 2-percent inflation goal by 2015. But policymakers have pushed the target date back six times.

This was the first BOJ policy meeting since Governor Kuroda was reappointed earlier this month to serve a second term.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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