Looking ahead, there remain factors that warrant attention, including the issues in Europe I just referred to; nevertheless, the global economy this year is expected to achieve a relatively high growth rate of about 4 percent, mainly due to the strong growth in emerging and commodityexporting economies.
Against the backdrop of these developments in the global economy, Japan’s economy is also following a recovery trend. At the end of April, the Bank released its semiannual Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices, which presents the Bank’s assessment of the prospects for economic activity and prices over the next two years.