TOKYO — A Bank of Japan policymaker played down the chance of meeting a proposal by the International Monetary Fund to tweak the central bank's 2% inflation target into a looser goal set in a range, a summary of opinions at the BOJ's December rate review showed. As stubbornly low inflation forces the BOJ to maintain a massive stimulus programme despite the strain inflicted on financial institutions, the IMF said in a policy proposal in November the BOJ could make its price goal a more flexible one by adopting a target range for price moves. The idea runs counter to BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's pledge to continue with his "powerful" monetary easing to hit 2% inflation at the earliest date possible. "The BOJ should constantly consider what works best as its policy framework," one of the BOJ's nine board members told the December policy meeting.

Source: International New York Times December 27, 2019 00:36 UTC