BOJ board members agree to review yen's inflation

TOKYO Bank of Japan BOJ board members agreed on Wednesday that the central bank must scrutinise how the yen's recent moves could affect inflation, according to minutes of the July policy meeting of the BOJ.

One member said that the downward pressure on the yen may be lowered as the global economic slowdown begins to weigh on inflation and long-term interest rates across the world.

If the global economy is going to get a shock, there's a chance that the current weak-yen trend could change into a strong-yen trend, another board member said.

The BOJ projected that inflation would surpass its 2 per cent target this year in new forecasts, but kept ultra-low interest rates and signalled its resolve to keep monetary super loose at the July 20 -- 21 meeting.

The Japanese currency's declines have been caused by the extremely low rates, according to analysts.

In a surprise move last week, the government intervened in the currency market to stem yen weakness by selling dollars and buying yen for the first time since 1998.