Japan keeps policy interest rate steady

TOKYO, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Thursday decided to maintain its current monetary policy, keeping the interest rate steady at around 0.25 percent.
The BOJ stressed the need to carefully monitor domestic wage and price trends as well as the outlook of the U.S. economy, especially in light of the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
The BOJ ended negative interest rates in March and hiked short-term rates to 0.25 percent in July, in a landmark shift away from a decade-long monetary stimulus aimed at spurring inflation and economic growth.
Market analysts said that recent political uncertainty in Japan, particularly after the recent House of Representatives election, may pose challenges for the BOJ to advance further rate hikes. ■