The rule dictates that the Governor, Deputy Governors and Members of the Policy Board should not, in principle, make remarks about monetary policy and operations immediately before or after monetary policy meetings. This is intended to avoid any unnecessary speculation or confusion which might be generated by such remarks. We call this the “blackout rule”.
Since there is a monetary policy meeting next Monday, today happens to fall into the period when this blackout rule applies. Therefore, I will not talk about any matters relating to monetary policy and will refrain from answering any questions on the subject. I would appreciate your kind understanding on this.