BoJ Summary of Opinions: Member sees inflation somewhat exceeds expectations

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) published the Summary of Opinions from its March monetary policy meeting, with the key findings noted below.   

Key quotes

One member said inflation is somewhat overshooting expectations.

One member said wage hikes in spring wage talks are somewhat exceeding last year's figures, with nominal wages rising at a pace in line with the achievement of the BOJ's price goal.

One member said rising wages are likely to underpin consumption.

One member said there are questions about whether wage gains would be sustainable.

One member said global economic uncertainty is heightening.

One member said heightened uncertainty over the global economy could be one new risk factor since our previous meeting in January.

One member said U.S. inflationary risk and economic worsening risk are both heightening.

One member said underlying inflation is highly likely to steadily accelerate toward 2%, given steady price rises and the outcome of wage talks.

One member said the new U.S. administration's policies could affect Japan's price moves via fluctuations in markets and FX rates. 

Market reaction  

Following the BoJ's Summary of Opinions, the USD/JPY pair is up 0.14% on the day to trade at 155.30 as of writing.