BoJ’s Ueda: Want to see if next spring's wage growth is strong enough to support consumption

Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda is speaking at the press conference, held after its December policy meeting on Tuesday.

Key quotes

US Fed’s rate-cut phase may have impact on Japan's economy, including on FX rates.

Japan's consumption has shown some weakness but continues to recover overall.

Want to see if next spring's wage growth is strong enough to support consumption.

It should be possible for the market to forecast our policy shift at least to some extent.

Cannot deny some negative effect of negative interest rate policy on financial institutions' profitability.

But banks are seeing strong profits.

Difficult to present firm picture on exit.

Don't have detailed picture of what policies would be taken in what order when time comes for exit from negative interest rate policy.

Accommodative conditions would be maintained for unspecified period of time after lifting of negative rates.

Rising voices for normalisation may be a sign that demand-driven inflation is becoming more evident.

It can be difficult or confusing for BoJ to show outlook for short-term policy rate as the US Fed does.

USD/JPY reaction to Ueda's comments

At the time of writing, USD/JPY is rebounding toward 144.00, in a sharp U-turn from near 143.40. The pair is up 0.81% on the day.