The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady but did revise up their assessment of the Japanese economy, but only slightly
Reuters and Bloomberg both have quick recaps up.
Via Reuters (bolding mine):
Revised up its assessment of the economy on Friday, signaling that it sees no need to expand stimulus again on the near-term horizon
"Japan's economy continues to recover moderately," the central bank said in a statement announcing the decision. That was a slightly more upbeat view than last month, when it said the economy continued to recover moderately as a trend.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. to explain the policy decision
(Note, that 3.30pm is Tokyo time, which is 0630GMT)
Via Bloomberg:
The Bank of Japan refrained from increasing monetary stimulus, as Governor Haruhiko Kuroda bets on stronger growth fueling inflation that is 1/10 the BOJ's target.
Japan is flashing mixed signals on its recovery from last year's recession, with an increase in spending by companies and households and an inventory buildup that threatens to damp the economy after its first back-to-back quarterly expansion since 2013
Kuroda said last week there was no need for further easing now because a virtuous economic cycle was working, even as cheaper oil weighed on inflation.
FastFT (gated):
The Bank of Japan recently abandoned its 2015 time frame for hitting a 2 per cent inflation target
Two year ago Mr Kuroda set an ambitious 2 per cent inflation target and pledged to hit it "at the earliest possible time, with a time horizon of about two years."
But last month the BoJ admitted defeat and abandoned this informal timeframe. It now expects to reach this in the first half of fiscal 2016 depending on movement in oil prices.
