July 18, 2008
Bank of Japan
Minutes of the
Monetary Policy Meeting
on June 12 and 13, 2008
(English translation prepared by the Bank's staff based on the Japanese original)
III. Summary of Discussions on Monetary Policy for the Immediate Future
On the guideline for money market operations for the intermeeting period ahead, members agreed that, given the economic and financial situation, it would be appropriate to maintain the current guideline that the Bank would encourage the uncollateralized overnight call rate to remain at around 0.5 percent. They shared the following view: (1) Japan's economy was likely to grow at a slower pace for the time being, due to the effects of high energy and materials prices, and follow a moderate growth path thereafter; (2) however, attention should continue to be paid to uncertainty regarding future developments in overseas economies and global financial markets and to the effects of high energy and materials prices; (3) as for prices, developments in prices and also in consumers' inflation expectations and firms' price-setting behavior should be watched even more closely; and (4) in this situation, it was appropriate to closely examine economic indicators and other relevant information and also market conditions both at home and abroad to grasp the situation more accurately.
Members concurred that the following thinking on the monetary policy stance for the future remained unchanged: the Bank would carefully assess the future outlook for economic activity and prices, closely considering the likelihood of its projections materializing as well as factors posing upside or downside risks, and would implement appropriate policies in an accordingly flexible manner.
A few members said that the effects of the substantial increase in international commodity prices on individual economies differed depending on their situation, and the direction of their monetary policy might also differ accordingly. As for Japan's economy, some members expressed the view that, amid the continuing surge in international commodity prices, both downside risks to economic growth and upside risks to inflation had been increasing. A few members said that in the current situation of Japan's economy, unlike in the case of some economies with vigorous demand and strong upward pressure on wages, the Bank should focus more on downside risks to economic growth than on upside risks to inflation.
A few members expressed the view that since monetary policy worked with a considerable lag, the Bank, as a central bank, should pay greater attention to changes in the underlying trend of prices than to short-term price developments, and therefore a change in people's inflation expectations for the medium to long term would be one of the important points to consider when deciding monetary policy. One member said that inflation had been rising worldwide and Japan was no exception to this trend, and therefore the Bank should take a gradual and preemptive approach to forestall an increase in inflation expectations once it became assured to some degree that Japan's economy was following a path of sustainable growth with price stability.
※출처: Bank of Japan
Bank of Japan
Minutes of the
Monetary Policy Meeting
on June 12 and 13, 2008
(English translation prepared by the Bank's staff based on the Japanese original)
III. Summary of Discussions on Monetary Policy for the Immediate Future
On the guideline for money market operations for the intermeeting period ahead, members agreed that, given the economic and financial situation, it would be appropriate to maintain the current guideline that the Bank would encourage the uncollateralized overnight call rate to remain at around 0.5 percent. They shared the following view: (1) Japan's economy was likely to grow at a slower pace for the time being, due to the effects of high energy and materials prices, and follow a moderate growth path thereafter; (2) however, attention should continue to be paid to uncertainty regarding future developments in overseas economies and global financial markets and to the effects of high energy and materials prices; (3) as for prices, developments in prices and also in consumers' inflation expectations and firms' price-setting behavior should be watched even more closely; and (4) in this situation, it was appropriate to closely examine economic indicators and other relevant information and also market conditions both at home and abroad to grasp the situation more accurately.
Members concurred that the following thinking on the monetary policy stance for the future remained unchanged: the Bank would carefully assess the future outlook for economic activity and prices, closely considering the likelihood of its projections materializing as well as factors posing upside or downside risks, and would implement appropriate policies in an accordingly flexible manner.
A few members said that the effects of the substantial increase in international commodity prices on individual economies differed depending on their situation, and the direction of their monetary policy might also differ accordingly. As for Japan's economy, some members expressed the view that, amid the continuing surge in international commodity prices, both downside risks to economic growth and upside risks to inflation had been increasing. A few members said that in the current situation of Japan's economy, unlike in the case of some economies with vigorous demand and strong upward pressure on wages, the Bank should focus more on downside risks to economic growth than on upside risks to inflation.
A few members expressed the view that since monetary policy worked with a considerable lag, the Bank, as a central bank, should pay greater attention to changes in the underlying trend of prices than to short-term price developments, and therefore a change in people's inflation expectations for the medium to long term would be one of the important points to consider when deciding monetary policy. One member said that inflation had been rising worldwide and Japan was no exception to this trend, and therefore the Bank should take a gradual and preemptive approach to forestall an increase in inflation expectations once it became assured to some degree that Japan's economy was following a path of sustainable growth with price stability.
※출처: Bank of Japan
