BOJ keeps policy steady, warns of uncertainty over Ukraine crisis fallout

TOKYO – The Bank of Japan maintained its massive stimulus on Friday and warned of “very high uncertainty” over the economic fallout from the Ukraine crisis, signalling its resolve to keep monetary policy ultra-loose for the time being.

As widely expected, the central bank kept unchanged its short-term interest rate target at -0.1% and a pledge to guide the 10-year government bond yield around 0%. The decision was made by a 8-1 vote.

“Japan’s economy is picking up as a trend,” though the central bank must be vigilant to the fallout from the war in Ukraine, which is destabilising markets and sharply pushing up raw material costs, the BOJ said in a statement.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)