ECB, BOJ seen holding rates as Fed plows ahead: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are about three years behind the Federal Reserve in policy normalization as inflation in Europe and Japan will likely stay below their 2 percent target in the foreseeable future, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Monday.

The ECB would not raise its policy rates until 2019, while the BOJ would only make modest adjustments in yield curve control and raise its policy rate until at least 2010, Bank of America Merrill’s global economist Ethan Harris wrote in a research note.