BOJ'S MIKI: NOW IS NOT TIME TO RETURN TO ZERO RATE POLICY
Bank of Japan Policy Board Member Toshio Miki denied he was considering a return to a zero-rate interest policy. He said the economy had temporarily stalled but is not yet receding. He said the BOJ would need to adopt a "flexible monetary policy stance" if there was a downturn in the economy or system risks emerged. The BOJ would continue its extremely easy monetary policy to ensure solid recovery and provide ample funds to cover fiscal year end funding needs. He said the BOJ would not consider increasing liquidity by buying JGBs in the secondary market.