The Bank of Japan kept its monetary stimulus unchanged as widely expected on Thursday.
Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and his board members decided by an 8-1 majority vote to hold its target of raising the monetary base at an annual pace of about JPY 80 trillion.
The board also decided to maintain the -0.1 percent interest rate on current accounts that financial institutions maintain at the bank.
The bank said the Japan’s economy is likely to be on a moderate expanding trend.
Annual inflation is likely to be slightly negative or about 0 percent for the time being, due to the effects of the decline in energy prices, and, as the underlying trend in inflation steadily rises, accelerate toward 2 percent, BoJ said.
Policymakers will respond to the recent moderation in underlying inflation by stepping up the pace of easing next month, Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics, said.
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