Bank Of Japan Is Waiting, Watching

With falling oil prices and other factors pushing Japan's core consumer inflation ever lower, the Bank of Japan is expected to increase its quantitative easing sometime soon, but just not in Tuesday's decision. A Reuters survey of economists found a wide consensus that the central bank will stand pat at this month's meeting, but with the odds of further easing growing as the year progresses. Capital Economics economist Marcel Thieliant wrote in a note Monday that the Bank of Japan would stand pat Tuesday in order to "wait for the first results of the spring wage negotiations before coming to a firm conclusion on the need of additional stimulus." That said, Capital Economics is tipping fresh easing at the April meeting, with the central bank increasing its annual expansion of money supply to 90 trillion yen ($740 billion), up from �80 trillion at the current pace. Thieliant wrote: "Ours remains a minority view, and if we are right, we should see further yen weakness and Nikkei [Stock Average] strength."