BOJ’s Kuroda says he is resolved to keep ultra-loose policy

(Reuters) – Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Saturday stressed anew the central bank’s resolve to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy, even as inflation continued to exceed its 2% target.

Japan’s core consumer inflation hit a fresh 41-year high of 4.2% in January, data showed on Friday, keeping the central bank under pressure to phase out its massive stimulus programme.

“The rise in consumer inflation is driven mostly by moves by companies to pass on rising raw material costs to households,” Kuroda told a news conference after attending the G20 finance leaders’ gathering in Bengaluru, India.

The BOJ expects core consumer inflation to slow below 2% in both fiscal 2023 and 2024, as the effect of past rises in raw material costs fades, he said.

“It’s true Japan’s situation is quite different from that of the United States and advanced European countries. The BOJ must maintain current ultra-loose policy to sustainably and stably achieve its 2% target,” Kuroda said.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Andrew Heavens)