Bank of Japan keeps easy credit stance as inflation eludes

TOKYO – Japan’s central bank has opted to keep its ultra-lax monetary policy unchanged.

A statement by the Bank of Japan on Thursday said rising private consumption, exports and business investment were signs that a moderate recovery has taken hold.

The BOJ said it is committed to its 2 per cent inflation target, but deemed inflation expectations to be in a “weakening phase.” It said inflation would likely gradually rise thanks to tightening capacity.

It kept its key policy rate at minus 0.1 per cent.

BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda launched his big “bazooka” of stimulus in early 2013, seeking to push prices, and encourage wages and investment to rise, through massive central bank purchases of Japanese government bonds and other assets that are pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy each year.