BOJ Kuroda Reiterates Readiness for Monetary Easing

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Aug. 27 (Jiji Press)--Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated Saturday the central bank's readiness to ease monetary policy further if needed to achieve its 2 pct inflation target. In a speech to an economic symposium held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Kuroda highlighted the benefits of the BOJ's negative interest rate policy, introduced in February. Pointing to a significant increase in the issuance of 20-year or longer-term corporate bonds, Kuroda said declines in long-term borrowing costs have "stimulated firms' demand for long-term funding and households' demand for mortgage loans, thereby benefiting a wide range of borrowers," he said. Kuroda said the BOJ will "take additional easing measures without hesitation in terms of three dimensions--quantity, quality, and the interest rate--if it is judged necessary for achieving the price stability target." There were worries in financial markets that the BOJ's monetary policy management has been stalemated as its aggressive monetary easing has produced only limited effects in boosting corporate capital investment and consumer spending. Kuroda rejected the skepticism, saying, "There is no doubt that ample space for additional easing in each of these three dimensions is available to the Bank."Copyright JIJI PRESS LTD.