BOJ keeps interest rates steady and roughly maintains price forecasts

TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady on Thursday and broadly maintained its forecast that inflation will hover near its 2% inflation target in coming years, signaling it is willing to further scale back its massive monetary stimulus turn.

As widely expected, the nine-member board unanimously decided to leave the BoJ’s short-term interest rate unchanged at 0.25%.

The BOJ must pay due attention to the future direction of overseas economies, especially the US economy, and developments in financial markets, the BOJ said in a quarterly outlook report.

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda is expected to hold a press conference to explain the policy decision at 3:30 p.m.