Investing.com - The Bank of Japan boosted the size of its asset-purchase program by JPY10 trillion, in an effort to boost slowing economic activity, it announced on Thursday.
The BoJ boosted the size of its asset purchase program by JPY10 trillion to a total of JPY76 trillion, broadly in line with market expectations. The asset purchase fund has been its main policy tool since October 2010.
Policy makers kept a separate credit loan program at JPY25 trillion. The BoJ also left its policy interest-rate target unchanged in the current range of zero to 0.1%
The central bank also maintained its target for consumer price inflation at 1%, disappointing market expectations for an increase following the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in elections earlier in the week.
In a statement accompanying the policy decision, the Bank of Japan cited “a high degree of uncertainty concerning Japan’s economy.”
Following the decision, the yen was higher against the U.S. dollar, with USD/JPY shedding 0.49% to trade at 83.99.
Meanwhile, Asian stock markets were mostly lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.2%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index eased up 0.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.2%.
The BoJ boosted the size of its asset purchase program by JPY10 trillion to a total of JPY76 trillion, broadly in line with market expectations. The asset purchase fund has been its main policy tool since October 2010.
Policy makers kept a separate credit loan program at JPY25 trillion. The BoJ also left its policy interest-rate target unchanged in the current range of zero to 0.1%
The central bank also maintained its target for consumer price inflation at 1%, disappointing market expectations for an increase following the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in elections earlier in the week.
In a statement accompanying the policy decision, the Bank of Japan cited “a high degree of uncertainty concerning Japan’s economy.”
Following the decision, the yen was higher against the U.S. dollar, with USD/JPY shedding 0.49% to trade at 83.99.
Meanwhile, Asian stock markets were mostly lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.2%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index eased up 0.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.2%.