TOKYO (Reuters) - Some Bank of Japan policymakers said consumer inflation could temporarily fall below 1 percent due to declining energy prices, minutes of the central bank's Oct. 6-7 meeting showed on Thursday.
A few members also expressed concern that inflation could be slowing due to a lack of momentum in consumer spending. Most members agreed that inflation is likely to pick up again as the output gap improves.
Members also agreed that declines in the yen
At the Oct. 6-7 meeting, the BOJ left its quantitative easing programme unchanged despite lingering weakness after a sales tax increase in April.
At a subsequent meeting on Oct. 31, the BOJ shocked global investors by increasing its government debt and risk asset purchases in a stark admission that inflation and the economy are not picking up as it expected.
(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)