The Bank of Japan maintained its dovish stance in its last policy meeting of the year, although markets have been exhibiting a belief that the central bank is edging toward policy normalization.
The Tuesday meeting had been expected to be a nonevent until BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda said earlier this month that his job would be “more challenging from the year-end to next year.”
Ueda’s comment during a parliamentary session on Dec. 7 increased expectations that the central bank might send some signals of a policy change at its December meeting. This speculation sharply accelerated the yen’s appreciation, with the currency gaining against the dollar to the ¥141 range from the ¥147 level prior to the remark.
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