Japan holds interest rates steady, pledges more flexibility to yield curve control

By Tuba Ongun

The Bank of Japan on Friday decided to leave its interest rates at ultra-low levels and to provide additional flexibility in yield curve control to enhance the sustainability of monetary easing.

The short-term interest rate target was unchanged at -0.1% and 10-year bond yields at around 0% after a two-day meeting, in line with market forecasts.

"Sustainable and stable achievement of the price stability target of 2%, accompanied by wage increases, has not yet come in sight, and thus the Bank needs to patiently continue with monetary easing under Quantitative and Qualitative monetary easing with yield curve control," said a BOJ statement.

The bank said it will continue to allow 10-year Japanese government bonds (JGB) yields to fluctuate in the range of around plus and minus 0.5 percentage points from the target level.

"While it will conduct yield curve control with greater flexibility, regarding the upper and lower bounds of the range as references, not as rigid limits, in its market operations," it added.

The bank will offer to purchase 10-year JGBs at 1% every business day through fixed-rate operations, unless no bids are submitted.

It also revised its median consumer inflation forecast upward for the fiscal 2023 to 2.5%, up from 1.8% in its April projection.