BOJ’s Kuroda signals room to hike yield target before price goal met

TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Tuesday signaled the possibility of allowing long-term interest rates to rise above zero before his 2 percent inflation target is met.

“It’s not as if we will defend the 10-year yield target of around zero percent at all costs,” Kuroda told parliament, when asked whether the BOJ would keep the yield target at that level until inflation hits 2 percent.

But Kuroda added he had “absolutely no plan” to raise the yield target for the time being with inflation still distant from 2 percent.