The Bank of Japan took a less pessimistic view of the economy while leaving its aggressive monetary stimulus untouched a day after Yoshihide Suga took over as prime minister pledging to continue his predecessor¡¯s stance on monetary and fiscal policy.
The BOJ kept its key interest rate at negative 0.1 percent and left its asset purchases unchanged, according to a statement from the bank Thursday. The result was expected by 95 percent of 44 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Suga, who was elected Wednesday for the country¡¯s top job, has indicated he sees no need for any immediate changes in BOJ policies that have helped keep financial markets stable and get credit to companies amid COVID-19. Economists see Thursday¡¯s decision fitting in with a pattern of little change for the time being, barring any sharp worsening of the pandemic or a run on markets.
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