Bank of Japan raises inflation forecast, keeps policy steady

Jul 21 (cnbc.com) - The Bank of Japan raised its inflation forecast on Thursday but maintained ultra-low interest rates and warned of risks to a fragile economy, reinforcing its position as an outlier in a wave of global central bank policy tightening.

The decision came hours before that of the European Central Bank, which will consider a bigger-than-expected 50 basis point rate increase to tame soaring inflation.

While rising fuel and commodity costs have pushed Japan’s inflation above its 2% target, the BOJ has repeatedly said it was in no rush to withdraw stimulus as slowing global growth cloud the outlook for the still-weak economy.

As widely expected, the BOJ maintained its -0.1% target for short-term rates and that of 10-year bond yields around 0%.

In fresh quarterly projections, the board raised to 2.3% from 1.9% its core consumer inflation for the current fiscal year ending in March 2023. It also raised its inflation forecast for the following year to 1.4% from 1.1%. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

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