TOKYO: The Bank of Japan kept monetary settings unchanged on Wednesday after having eased policy just three weeks ago but cut its economic assessment, signalling its readiness to offer further monetary stimulus if risks to the economy's recovery heighten.
"Japan's economy continues to pick up but at a more moderate pace, mainly due to the effects of a slowdown in overseas economies," the central bank said in a statement issued after its policy review.
As widely expected, the BoJ maintained its key interest rate at a range of zero to 0.1 percent by a unanimous vote.
Governor Masaaki Shirakawa will hold an embargoed news conference with his comments expected to come out sometime after 4:15 p.m.
At the previous rate review on Oct. 27, the BoJ cut its economic forecasts and eased policy by topping up its asset buying scheme, under which it buys government bonds and corporate debt, by 5 trillion yen to 20 trillion.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.