AFP, Tokyo :
The Bank of Japan deflated investor spirits Friday with underwhelming tweaks to its giant stimulus plan that fanned worries its monetary policy arsenal is almost empty.
The central bank did not expand a massive bond-buying programme-a cornerstone of its years-long battle against deflation-despite hopes for a one-two punch to boost the sluggish economy, after Tokyo unveiled a huge spending package this week.
Japanese officials are under pressure as the fate of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bid to reignite the world’s number three economy, dubbed Abenomics, looks increasingly gloomy.
“The market had expected more than what the BoJ announced today, which triggered some disappointment,” said Yosuke Hosokawa, head of the forex sales team at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
“This shows the ceiling for monetary policy.”
The BoJ’s gathering was its first since Britain’s shock vote to quit the European Union.
The decision last month hammered financial markets and sparked a yen rally that is threatening corporate Japan’s bottom line-fanning concerns about growth.
Government figures on Friday morning did little to soothe those worries, with inflation and household spending falling last month.
The Bank of Japan deflated investor spirits Friday with underwhelming tweaks to its giant stimulus plan that fanned worries its monetary policy arsenal is almost empty.
The central bank did not expand a massive bond-buying programme-a cornerstone of its years-long battle against deflation-despite hopes for a one-two punch to boost the sluggish economy, after Tokyo unveiled a huge spending package this week.
Japanese officials are under pressure as the fate of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bid to reignite the world’s number three economy, dubbed Abenomics, looks increasingly gloomy.
“The market had expected more than what the BoJ announced today, which triggered some disappointment,” said Yosuke Hosokawa, head of the forex sales team at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
“This shows the ceiling for monetary policy.”
The BoJ’s gathering was its first since Britain’s shock vote to quit the European Union.
The decision last month hammered financial markets and sparked a yen rally that is threatening corporate Japan’s bottom line-fanning concerns about growth.
Government figures on Friday morning did little to soothe those worries, with inflation and household spending falling last month.
