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Bloomberg
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will leave monetary policy unchanged this week, and probably for much longer, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a stimulus package to bolster growth, according to a Bloomberg survey.
All 45 economists polled expect no action from the bank at the end of a two-day meeting on Thursday.
For the first time since April, a majority of economists now expect the BOJ’s next action will eventually be a tightening of policy, an indication of how abruptly expectations have changed since the last survey in October.
The Abe administration this month readied stimulus worth 13.2 trillion yen ($120 billion) in fiscal measures to help the economy cope with an export slump, recent typhoons and fallout from October’s sales tax hike. Those measures have given the bank breathing room to hold off on using its depleted ammunition, according to economists.
The government’s fiscal measures will add 0.35 percentage point to Japan’s growth in the year starting in April, according to the median forecast of respondents.