BoJ continues to have ample room on easing, Kuroda says, yen strengthens

The Bank of Japan continued to have ample room to ease monetary policy further, the central bank´s governor said.

Speaking on Sunday, BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda said rate-setters should not hesitate to take further actions if they were warranted.

"Even with the current framework there is ample room for further monetary easing in either of three dimensions, quantity, quality and the interest rate [...] and other new ideas should not be taken off the table,” Kuroda said.

“There is no free lunch for any policy," the central banker said, in reference to the fact that all policy options entailed costs and benefits.

"That said, we should not hesitate to go ahead with as long as it is necessary for Japan’s economy as a whole,” he added.

Kuroda also said he did not agree with those who believed the potential for further easing was limited even as he admitted that negative interest rates hurts profits at financial institutions.

The BoJ had previously promised to undertake a comprehensive review of policies at the next policy meteing.

As of 1123 BST the dollar/yen was trading lower by -0.77% to 103.21 as the yen strengthened.

In parallel, the yield on the benchmark 30-year bond was higher by two basis points to 0.54%.