Bank of Japan keeps policy steady, to pump $1 trn to combat health crisis

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady on Tuesday and stuck to its view that the economy will gradually recover from the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, signalling that it has taken sufficient steps for now.

As widely expected, the central bank maintained its pledge to guide short-term interest rates at -0.1% and the 10-year government bond yield around 0% by a 8-1 vote.

It also made no changes to a range of programmes it put in place to channel money via financial institutions into companies faced with slumping sales from the pandemic.

The BOJ said it expects to pump around 110 trillion yen ($1 trillion) to the economy via its market operations and lending facilities aimed at combating the hit from the health crisis.

The BOJ eased monetary policy for two straight months in March and April, focusing on measures to ease corporate funding strains and stabilising financial markets.

BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is due to hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT).