. 0 0. 0 - 1. 0 - 1. 0 - 2. 0 - 2. 0 - 3. 0 - 3. 0 - 4. 0 - 4. 0 - 5. 0 - 5. 0 - 6. 0 - 6. 0 fy 2015 note : the solid line represents actual figures. shaded areas, which correspond to the color - coded distribution below, indicate the number of the policy board members who forecasted the same figure. ( figures are shown in units of 0. 1 percentage point. ) the vertical lines indicate the forecasts of the majority of the policy board members. these forecasts are shown as a range excluding four figures - - namely, the two highest figures and two lowest figures among the forecasts of the nine members. ( if a member submits the same forecast figure for the highest and lowest figures, it is counted as two separate figures. ) member ( s ) source : bank of japan. enhancement of monetary easing ( march 16 and april 27 ) chart 2 measures to ensure smooth financing of financial institutions and firms increase in purchases of cp and corporate bonds < until end - september 2020 > ・ increase the maximum amount of purchases from about 5 trillion yen to about 20 trillion yen in total and substantially raise the maximum amounts outstanding of a single issuer's cp and corporate bonds to be purchased establishment / strengthening of the special funds - supplying operations to facilitate financing in response to the novel coronavirus ( covid - 19 ) < until end - september 2020 > ・ provide loans to financial institutions against private debt as collateral at the interest rate of 0 percent and apply a positive interest rate of 0. 1 percent to the outstanding balances of current accounts held by financial institutions at the bank corresponding to the amounts outstanding of loans ・ expand eligible counterparties to include member financial institutions of central organizations of financial cooperatives, which have a high proportion of loans to small and medium - sized firms swift consideration of a new measure to provide funds to financial institutions ・ with the aim of further supporting financing, mainly of small and medium - sized firms, the bank will consider a new measure taking account, for example, of the government's programs to support financing such as those in its emergency economic measures. measures to maintain stability in financial markets enhancement of the u. s. dollar funds - supplying operations < for the time being > ・ in line with a coordinated action by six central banks, the bank's operation was enhanced by lowering the loan rate, offering u. s

hence to set the short - term price of money, based on domestic considerations. this is the hallmark of a modern monetary policy. the extent of short - term variability in interest rates declined while, naturally, that of the exchange rate rose somewhat ( graph 3 ). a flexible exchange rate is also a critical component of inflation targeting, which is australia ’ s monetary policy framework of choice. admittedly, for some years exchange rate considerations were still sometimes seen as something of a constraint in the conduct of monetary policy. this has been progressively less the case, though, as the credibility of the inflation target has increased. even if all the flexible exchange rate did was to allow monetary policy to operate effectively, that was a major benefit. but the float did more than just that. real exchange rates move in response to various forces affecting an open economy, even if the nominal exchange rate is fixed. given the slow - moving nature of the bulk of prices, allowing the nominal exchange rate to change makes the process more efficient unless there is excessive short - run variability in we found ourselves “ out of favour ” despite the fact that it was almost certainly the use of information technology rather than its production that made for the biggest gains to a society and on that score australia ranked highly. the price put on our currency by the market seemed at odds with other things and that episode saw the first use of results from a model in a speech by a reserve bank governor to demonstrate that point ( see macfarlane 2000 ). bis central bankers ’ speeches the nominal rate. as hedging markets develop the cost of short - run noise is usually lessened. in my view the flexible exchange rate has helped adjustment in the real economy in its own right. the combination of allowing monetary policy to operate effectively and fostering real economic adjustment is very important. one very telling comparison is between the macroeconomic performance in the most recent commodity price upswing and that in the episodes in the early 1950s and mid 1970s ( graph 4 ). it is obvious that there has been a first - order reduction in macroeconomic variability on this occasion. the flexibility of the exchange rate has been a major contributor to that outcome. 5. has the exchange rate been “ misaligned ”? the currency has certainly moved through a very wide range over the thirty years since the float. if our metric were some constant target level of “ competitiveness ” measured, say, by relative unit costs, then we would be drawn to the conclusion that it has been “ mis