Aomori, Japan

BANK of Japan (BOJ) deputy governor Kikuo Iwata on Thursday dismissed the need to raise interest rates any time soon, stressing that the economy still requires support from "powerful" monetary easing, with inflation far from the central bank's 2 per cent target.

He also called for maintaining the BOJ's loose pledge to increase its government bond holdings by 80 trillion yen (S$1 trillion) per year, even though recently the pace of purchases has slowed significantly. "Removing the pledge could cause unnecessary market turmoil," he told reporters after meeting business leaders in Aomori, northern Japan.