NEW YORK: The dollar declined against the yen in Asian trade on Tuesday, with remarks by a Japanese government minister about the Bank of Japan’s 2% inflation target.
Economy minister Akira Amari said Tuesday that the central bank was not constrained by a loose schedule of about two years for achieving its inflation goal, pointing to falling energy prices as a factor that would likely delay efforts to reach its target.
“It would be fine to give the BOJ more room for its main time frame of about two years,” said Amari, adding that “neither the government nor the BOJ have clearly made a rigid commitment to a deadline.”
The remarks pulled down the dollar USDJPY, -0.23% to as low as ¥118.12 in the early afternoon session before stabilizing at ¥118.34. That compares with ¥118.48 late Monday in New York.
