BoJ's Noguchi: Could begin debate on strategy after hitting price target by end-2021

In an interview with Reuters, Bank of Japan (BoJ) board member Asahi Noguchi said that the BoJ may be able to begin the debate on strategy for hitting the price target toward the end of the year.

Additional takeaways

"BoJ must focus on economy's trend if deciding on easing more, look at wages, jobs, output gap."

"BoJ should ease without hesitation if shock event pushes the economy into a severe downturn."

"If the BoJ were to ease further, it could cut interest rates, ramp up asset buying or extend the duration of yield it targets."

"BoJ's commitment to keeping increasing base money until inflation stably exceeds 2% 'doesn't have strong effect' on public perceptions."

Market reaction

The USD/JPY pair extended its slide following these comments and was last seen losing 0.32% on the day at 109.53.