Bank of Japan Maintains Steady Interest Rates

Forex - The Bank of Japan has confirmed once again that it is progressing towards its stable inflation and economic growth targets while keeping the policy interest rate unchanged as expected. The Japanese central bank maintained its overnight call rate target at 0.25%, which was reached after the last increase in July. The decision was made unanimously.

Governor Ueda will hold a press conference at 09:30 Turkey time.

Thursday's decision did not come as a surprise to most observers of the BOJ, as Governor Kazuo Ueda had previously hinted at increasing concerns over the increasingly uncertain global economic outlook. Ueda also stated that the BOJ has the time to analyze risk factors, indicating that the bank would continue to take cautious steps.

Political uncertainty following elections in Japan and ahead of the presidential race in the US has strengthened views that policy-making will be approached with caution.

In its quarterly outlook report published on Thursday, the BOJ stated that it expects inflation to remain close to its 2% target in the coming years. The closely watched report supports expectations that policymakers will raise interest rates again soon.