Society

BOJ makes unlimited bond purchases to limit rates

Feb 14 (NHK) - The Bank of Japan is making unlimited bond purchases on Monday to keep long term interest rates from climbing further.

BOJ officials say they will buy an unlimited amount of government bonds at a fixed rate. It is the bank's first such move in about three years and seven months.

A sell-off in Japanese government bonds has recently been intensifying. It pushed yields on the benchmark 10-year bond up to 0.23 percent on Thursday, which is the highest level in about six years and one month and close to the cap the BOJ has set.

Long term interest rates have been rising as central banks in the United States and Europe move to tighten monetary policy.

Analysts say the BOJ's bond purchases are signaling that the bank will stick with its policy of monetary easing.

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