BOJ disappoints markets by relative lack of action
Central bank leaves its policy unchanged except for a pledge to double its purchases of ETFs
Tokyo
THE Bank of Japan (BOJ) dashed market hopes of bold new actions on Friday by opting for only a marginal increase in monetary easing while announcing its intention to conduct a comprehensive assessment of developments in economic activity and prices, which appeared to open the door to possible future policy actions of a more radical nature.
The central bank's Policy Board announced at the end of a two-day meeting that it was leaving policy unchanged except for a pledge to double the BOJ's purchases of exchange-traded funds in order to "reduce risk premiums" in the equity market.
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