BOJ’s Kiuchi - de-merits of QQE steadily increasing

Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member Kiuchi was on the wires stating that the de merits of the central bank’s QQE program are steadily increasing.

Key quotes

Don't think japan can hit 2% inflation by fy2018

Achieving 2 pct inflation takes time, need structural changes in economy with efforts from govt, private sector

Japan's output gap likely to remain more or less at neutral level, making it hard to expect marked rise in underlying trend inflation

Overseas demand, fincl mkts biggest downside risks

Negative rate policy having bad effect on financial market stability

Private consumption lacking momentum partly due to disappointingly slow wage growth

Japan firms may not change significantly their cautious stance on capex

Firms cautious about wage hikes; productivity low