LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- The Bank of Japan kept its policy unchanged
Tuesday as widely expected, adding no new easing. The decision, usually
released during the midday stock-market break, was delayed as the
central bank's governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, was summoned to the Diet -- a
rare action, last taken 16 years ago. In his remarks to the parliament,
Kuroda voiced approval of the yen's relatively weak level and said Japan
remained on track to reach its goal of sustained 2% consumer inflation.
Kuroda also said that "if downside risks to the outlook materialize, we
will certainly make policy adjustments, which will take the form of
additional easing," according to a Dow Jones Newswires translation of
his comments. The statement accompanying the decision later in the day
said the current level of easing was "exerting its intended effects,"
even as it admitted that "industrial production has recently been
showing some weakness, due in part to inventory adjustments." The yen
had risen just ahead of the announcement, with the dollar
USDJPY, -0.35%
easing to ¥108.81 from around
¥109.12, but it recovered some ground as the market digested the Bank of
Japan's statement, to trade at ¥108.92.
