BoJ Poised to raise CPI Projection For 2022

“The Bank of Japan’s government debt holdings have fallen for the first time in 13 years as the central bank quietly adjusts its massive bond-buying program in the face of looming financial risk,” said Nikkei while conveying details of the Bank of Japan’s stealth tapering during early Thursday morning in Asia.

Key Quotes
The BOJ’s balance of Japanese government bonds totaled 521 trillion yen ($4.49 trillion) at the end of 2021, according to data released Wednesday, down 14 trillion yen from a year earlier.

After current Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda took the post in 2013, he oversaw a vast expansion of a quantitative easing policy meant to boost deflation-mired Japan’s money supply and quickly achieve 2% inflation.

The BOJ still stands by its ‘quantitative and qualitative’ policy, its only plan for achieving 2% inflation.

As for forex-market-related reaction, the USD/JPY pair defends 116.00, around 116.10, as the news allowed the yen pair to consolidate recent gains. However, firmer yields keep buyers more hopeful.