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Japan's central bank keeps monetary policy, down economic view

TOKYO, Oct 29 (KUNA) -- Japan's central bank decided on Thursday to maintain its current monetary easing measures to support coronavirus-hit firms, while downgrading its assessment of the country's economy. At the end of a two-day policy meeting, Bank of Japan's (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and his eight board colleagues voted by 8 to 1 to keep short-term interest rates at minus 0.1 percent and guiding long-term rates around zero percent, according to a statement released by the BOJ. The bank will also continue to buy unlimited amount of Japanese government bonds from financial institutions and exchange-traded funds at an annual pace of JPY 12 trillion (USD 115 billion), it said.
Meanwhile, in a quarterly economic report issued after the policy meeting, the BOJ said the world's third-largest economy "has picked up with economic activity resuming, although it has remained in a severe situation due to the impact of COVID-19 at home and abroad." The central bank added that it expects Japan's economy to decline 5.5 percent in the current fiscal year through March 2021, a downgrade from the previous forecast of a 4.7 percent contraction. (end) mk.ag