Investing.com - The Japanese yen edged up on Thursday in Asia following the release of the Bank of Japan (BOJ)’s interest rate decision.
The BOJ said it would keep interest rates extremely low until at least 2020. The key monetary stimulus settings were also left unchanged unchanged.
The central bank noted that it mostly likely will not hit its 2% inflation target in the next three years.
The USD/JPY pair last traded at 111.90 by 11:30 PM ET (03:30 GMT), down 0.2%.
Meanwhile, the USD/CNY pair was up 0.1% to 6.7259.
The People’s Bank of China is not planning to tighten or relax monetary policy. Liu Guoqiang, vice governor of the central bank, said on Thursday at a briefing in Beijing, adding that the current policies are “appropriate.”
The USD/KRW pair was up 0.3% to 1,157.81 following the release of data that showed South Korea’s GDP shrank the most in a decade in the first quarter of 2019.
A South Korean Deputy Finance Minister reportedly said on Thursday that the government would intervene if there are any abnormal moves, including intensified volatility, in the foreign exchange markets.
Meanwhile, the euro was flat against the USD. Overnight, data showed German business sentiment unexpectedly fell in April.
The GBP/USD pair was also largely unchanged after Conservative lawmakers decided Wednesday against tweaking leadership rules that would have allowed a fresh attempt to oust U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.
The USD/CAD pair rose 0.04% to 1.3492 after the Bank of Canada kept rates at 1.75%, citing a decline in global growth activity due to trade concerns.
“Ongoing uncertainty related to trade conflicts has undermined business sentiment and activity, contributing to a synchronous slowdown across many countries,” the bank said in a statement.