TOKYO, June 14 (Bernama-Xinhua) — The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Friday decided to decrease its purchases of Japanese government bonds, marking a move towards policy normalisation after years of extensive monetary stimulus aimed at achieving stable inflation.
Following the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting, the central bank stated it would disclose specifics of its plan to reduce long-term government bond purchases in the upcoming meeting, reported Xinhua.
Until then, the BOJ will maintain its bond purchases at the current pace of around 6 trillion yen (US$38.1 billion) per month, the central bank said.
The BOJ also said its board voted to leave other measures unchanged, including holding its policy interest rate steady in a range of zero and 0.1 per cent.
The planned cutback marks another move in line with efforts to normalise monetary policy following the central bank’s first rate hike in 17 years in March when it decided to end its zero interest rate policy, new equity purchases, and yield curve controls but stopped short of reducing its bond purchases.
–BERNAMA-XINHUA