IMF's Gopinath says support Bank of Japan moving gradually

Gita Gopinath is the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• We support the Bank of Japan's approach of moving gradually and being data-dependent in raising interest rates.
• There are positive signs that Japan's inflation is moving durably toward the 2% target.
• Japan’s services inflation remains below the 2% target, which is why it remains appropriate for the Bank of Japan to maintain an accommodative monetary policy.
• It's still too early to provide a precise analysis of the consequences of Trump's trade tariffs.

Adding to earlier comments from other officials at the iMF:

• IMF estimates Japan's neutral interest rate to be in the range of 1-2%.