Bank of Japan Holds Benchmark Interest Rate Steady for Third Consecutive Time

The Bank of Japan (BOJ), Japan's central bank, kept its key interest rate unchanged for the third consecutive time on the 19th.

AFP Yonhap News

The Bank of Japan held a two-day Monetary Policy Meeting from the 18th to the 19th and decided to maintain the short-term policy interest rate at the current 0.25%. Previously, experts had expected the BOJ to keep rates steady at this meeting due to uncertainties surrounding the policies of President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office in January next year. Among the nine participants in the meeting, eight voted in favor of the rate freeze, while one opposed, arguing for a rate increase to 0.5%.

In March, the BOJ raised the short-term policy interest rate for the first time in 17 years, ending its negative interest rate policy. Then, at the July meeting, it increased the rate from 0?0.1% to about 0.25%, but has kept it unchanged since. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda is scheduled to hold a press conference this afternoon to explain the meeting results.