BOJ to Closely Monitor Yen's Weakness: Gov. Ueda

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)--The Bank of Japan will closely monitor the yen's weakness, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday.

"We confirmed that the BOJ will pay full attention to the yen's current weakness in its policy management," Ueda said. "(The weak yen's) effects on the underlying inflation rate will be carefully monitored as well."

He also said the bank and the government will work closely with each other.

Ueda's remarks suggest that the BOJ will consider taking a policy step if the yen's further slide against the dollar increases the possibility of the central bank uplifting its price outlook, observers said.

Rumor has it that the BOJ may carry out another interest rate hike at an early date or cut back its government bond purchases, currently totaling some 6 trillion yen per month.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]