Bank of Japan must avoid premature tightening: opinions from July board meeting

[TOKYO] The Bank of Japan must avoid prematurely tightening monetary policy as inflation remains short of its 2 per cent target, one board member was quoted as saying in a summary of opinions from the bank's July policy meeting.

"There's no major change to Japan's inflation expectations even as commodity prices rise" was another opinion at the meeting, according to the summary released on Wednesday.

At the meeting, the BOJ kept monetary policy steady and extended a deadline for its loan scheme aimed at channeling money to smaller firms hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

REUTERS