By Leika Kihara
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan may pledge to buy exchange-traded funds (ETF) faster than the current pace when it holds its rate review next week, if market volatility persists enough to hurt business confidence, sources familiar with its thinking said.
The step will be aimed at preventing the fallout from the cornavirus and subsequent market turbulence from derailing Japan’s fragile economic recovery, the sources said.
But there is no consensus yet on what steps the BOJ should take at the March 18-19 rate review. They will depend largely on what the other major central banks do to support their economies and how markets respond, the sources said.
“It’s among options if purchases approach the 6 trillion yen the BOJ pledges to buy annually,” one of the sources said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The decision is preliminary and subject to change, they said. The BOJ’s nine-member board yet to engage in full-fledged talks on the desirable next step, they said.
Under a policy called yield curve control, the BOJ guides short-term interest rates at -0.1% and the 10-year government bond yield around 0%. It also buys risky assets such as ETFs as part of efforts to funnel money to the market.
The BOJ currently says it will buy ETFs flexibly at an annual pace of roughly 6 trillion yen ($57.08 billion).
Kyodo news agency reported earlier on Tuesday the BOJ is considering expanding its ETF buying.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Ritsuko Ando; editing by Larry King)
