The Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-low interest rates at Friday’s first policy meeting under new Governor Kazuo Ueda, saying that more time is needed to reach its inflation target of 2% in a stable manner.
Economists’ predictions that the benchmark interest rate would remain unchanged at -0.1%, where it has been since the central bank dropped rates below zero in 2016.
For 10-year Japanese government bonds, the central bank left the tolerance range of 50 basis points over or below its target of 0% unchanged.
After a two-day meeting, the BOJ presented a report projecting a 1.6% increase in core consumer prices (excluding volatile fresh food items) for fiscal year 2025.
With this latest move, the BOJ will stick to its short-term interest rate target of -0.1% while directing yields on 10-year Japanese government bonds to hover near 0%.
