Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto said on Friday there was no need to discuss a price reference target, a policy some have urged the central bank to adopt as part of an end to its ultra-loose policy. "There is no need to discuss a price reference target at this point," he told a news conference, while adding he would not deny it could be debated in the future. He also declined to say whether he found current long-term government bond yields appropriate relative to recent economic conditions.
His comments come amid a rise in long-term yields to multi-year highs on the back of a strong economic recovery that has fuelled expectations of an early end to deflation and a reversal in the BOJ's ultra-loose monetary policy. The yield on the 10-year JGB <0#JPTSY=JBTC> eased by three basis points to 1.870 percent from Thursday. It rose as high as 1.94 percent on Thursday.///