BoJ' Kuroda: Will closely monitor impact of COVID-19 on economy, won't hesitate to act

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) will closely monitor the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy and won't hesitate to do whatever it takes as a central bank if necessary, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday.

Additional takeaways

"Although financial markets are still nervous, tension has eased."

"Spread of COVID-19 has not subsided globally, and domestic and overseas economies have remained in extremely severe situations."

"Despite extremely high uncertainties, domestic and overseas economies are likely to improve gradually from the second half of this year."

"Pace of improvement in domestic, overseas economies is expected to be only moderate since preventive measures will constrain economic activity while vigilance against COVID-19 continues."

"If strict public health measures are reinstated, economic activity could be constrained significantly again."

"Must be vigilant to risk liquidity problem will shift to a solvency one and affect the financial system."

"Important to continue providing support for financing, maintaining stability in financial markets."

Market reaction

The USD/JPY pair edged lower in the last minutes and was last seen losing 0.08% on the day at 105.60.