Opening Statement:

The economy remains stable.

Inflation has come down but remains above the 2% target.

Risks of both high inflation and rising unemployment are increasing.

Q1 GDP was affected as companies imported large volumes of goods ahead of tariff implementation.

The labor market remains strong at present.

The recent rise in inflation is not entirely due to increased consumer spending — tariffs are likely a contributing factor.

For these reasons, we have decided to maintain the current interest rate.

The scale of this tariff announcement is larger than we had anticipated.

Tariffs may increase both inflation and unemployment.

Tariff-driven inflation may be temporary — or it may persist… no one knows for sure.

Our mandate is to ensure that any inflation caused by tariffs remains temporary.$BTC