Dec 19 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan is expected to debate cutting already rock-bottom interest rates or take further steps to ease corporate credit strains on Friday, as the yen's sharp rise and crumbling global demand hit an economy already in recession.
Following is a chronology of discount rate moves by the BOJ since 1973 and of the central bank's targets for key short-term money market rates, later specified as the overnight call loan rate, since 1995:
(All figures in percent; ODR is official discount rate, which tends to serve as the ceiling for call rates and other lending rates and is used by financial institutions borrowing using the BOJ's Lombard-style facility that was introduced in March 2001. The BOJ no longer uses the term "ODR" and calls the Lombard rate the "basic loan rate".) DATE ODR/LOMBARD SHORT-TERM RATES/OVERNIGHT RATE TARGET Oct 31 2008 0.50 Cuts overnight call loan rate to 0.30 Feb 21 2007 0.75 Lifts overnight call loan rate to 0.50 July 14 2006 0.40 Ends zero rate policy; sets overnight
call loan rate at 0.25 March 9 2006 0.10 Reverts to interest rate targeting;
overnight call loan rate set
effectively at zero Sept 19 2001 0.10 -- March 19 2001 0.25 Adopts "quantitative easing" policy;
overnight call rate left to market but
forecast to fall to near zero March 1 2001 0.25 Cuts overnight call loan rate to 0.15 Feb 13 2001 0.35 -- Aug 11 2000 Ends zero rate policy; sets overnight
call loan rate at 0.25 Feb 12 1999 As low as possible (zero rate policy) Sept 9 1998 0.25 Sept 8 1995 0.50 Below new ODR July 7 1995
Below ODR April 14 1995 1.00 March 31 1995 Guide short-term rates lower to
maximise effectiveness of monetary
easing with the current ODR Sept 21 1993 1.75 Feb 4 1993 2.50 July 27 1992 3.25 April 1 1992 3.75 Dec 30 1991 4.50 Nov 14 1991 5.00 July 1 1991 5.50 Aug 30 1990 6.00 March 20 1990 5.25 Dec 25 1989 4.25 Oct 11 1989 3.75 May 31 1989 3.25 Feb 23 1987 2.50 Nov 1 1986 3.00 April 21 1986 3.50 March 10 1986 4.00 Jan 30 1986 4.50 Oct 22 1983 5.00 Dec 11 1981 5.50 March 18 1981 6.25 Nov 6 1980 7.25 Aug 20 1980 8.25 March 19 1980 9.00 Feb 19 1980 7.25 Nov 2 1979 6.25 July 24 1979 5.25 April 17 1979 4.25 March 16 1978 3.50 Sept 5 1977 4.25 April 19 1977 5.00 March 12 1977 6.00 Oct 24 1975 6.50 Aug 13 1975 7.50 June 7 1975 8.00 April 16 1975 8.50 Dec 22 1973 9.00 Aug 29 1973 7.00 July 2 1973 6.00 May 30 1973 5.50 April 2 1973 5.00 (Reporting by Tokyo Economic Policy Desk)