Japan Economics Update BoJ still likely to ease again soon The Bank of Japan has turned more optimistic on the economic outlook recently, in part on the belief that the plunge in the cost of energy should boost demand. A more pressing concern though is that... 4th February 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Government eases pressure on BoJ to expand stimulus The greater tolerance being shown by Japan’s government towards inflation remaining below target simply reflects the fact that the oil price collapse has made hitting the target all but impossible in... 28th January 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Impact of weaker yen on export volumes remains elusive The rise in Japan’s exports to the US appears to reflect the strength of the recovery there rather than yen weakness. Indeed, evidence that the plunge in the yen is boosting export volumes remains... 26th January 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update BoJ’s optimism reduces chances of near-term easing Apart from a minor tweak to its lending programmes, the Bank of Japan left policy settings unchanged today and signalled no concern about the impact of lower oil prices. The chances of additional... 21st January 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Dec.) While bank lending expanded at a record pace last year, leading indicators still point to a slowdown in loan growth in coming months. 15th January 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Benefits from Japan’s tourism boom remain limited The number of tourists visiting Japan reached a record high last year, and so did their aggregatespending. However, the volume of tourism expenditure remains small, and spillover effects from... 7th January 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Fiscal policy still becoming tighter despite rising spending The recently-announced supplementary budget is small by past standards and does not significantlyalter the economic outlook. While the budget for the coming fiscal year foresees a fresh record high... 6th January 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Demographic headwinds are picking up Firms were predicting strong gains in industrial output around the turn of the year despite some weakness in the latest figures on spending and production. But with the labour force now shrinking and... 5th January 2015 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Lower energy prices to require more easing While the Bank of Japan left policy settings unchanged at today’s meeting, the recent plunge in the cost of energy will result in a further slowdown in price pressure and jeopardise the Bank’s efforts... 19th December 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Nov.) Bank lending is growing at the fastest pace in years, but a range of leading indicators point to a slowdown in coming months. 18th December 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update What impact is a weaker yen having on imports? The sharp fall in the yen over the last two years seems to have slowed the long-term rise in imports of manufactured goods relative to domestic production. However, even a further weakening of the... 25th November 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Further stimulus still eventually needed The Bank of Japan left policy settings unchanged today as widely expected. While a more upbeat economic outlook suggests that additional easing is not imminent, we think that it will still eventually... 19th November 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update What impact will the delay in the sales tax hike have? The direct impact of Prime Minister Abe’s decision to delay next year’s sales tax hike is to boost the outlook for growth and also for underlying inflation, though headline inflation will of course be... 18th November 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Oct.) The latest money supply figures have been encouraging, but we expect the slowdown in the housing market to weigh on loan growth in coming months. 12th November 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Talk of snap election lifts markets A snap election could have the virtue of giving the government a stronger mandate as it struggles to push ahead with structural reform. But it would not be a long-term positive if coupled with a delay... 11th November 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Coordinated policy moves raise likelihood of sales tax hike The Bank of Japan’s decision on Friday to step up its pace of asset purchases has raised the chance that the sales tax will be increased again next year, but the decision is not yet a foregone... 5th November 2014 · 1 min read
