BOJ says to examine steps to make policy framework sustainable

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan said on Friday it will begin examining steps to make its monetary easing framework more effective and sustainable, and release its findings in March next year.

As widely expected, the central bank extended a package of measures aimed at easing corporate funding strains by six months, as a resurgence of coronavirus infections clouds the outlook for the world's third-largest economy.

In a two-day rate review that ended on Friday, the BOJ kept unchanged its target for short-term interest rate at -0.1% and for 10-year bond yields around 0%.

BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is due to hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT).

The BOJ eased policy in March and April mostly by ramping up asset purchases and creating a new facility to funnel funds via financial institutions to cash-strapped firms hit by COVID-19.

The package of measures, which also includes increased purchases of corporate debt, was deployed as a temporary measure to deal with immediate funding strains from the pandemic.