Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda spoke in Washington
BOJ leader Haruhiko Kuroda said on Saturday that if needed, he won't hesitate to lower rates further but also said there will be no significant changes in the management of the balance sheet under the new policy framework.
Last month Kuroda and other BOJ policymakers introduced 'yield curve control' in an effort to keep 10-year plus yields above zero and a steeper yield curve.
He said Saturday that an excessively low, flat yield curve could have weakened the transmission of monetary policy by squeezing bank profitability.
Kuroda also took on some alternative policies that were floated in the press. On the idea of raising the price target to heighten inflation expectations, he called it "naïve."
Overall, he said the policy will remain focused on managing the yield curve and that the amount of purchases doesn't matter so long as that is achieved.
Currently, he said it's not necessary to cut rates but that may become necessary if Japan faced a shock.
On the yen, he said the BOJ wasn't targeting any exchange rate levels but that they are mindful that currency moves affect the economy and prices.
