The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept monetary policy steady on Friday and revised up its assessment on overseas economies, signalling confidence that the country can meet its price target without additional stimulus.
As expected, the central bank voted unanimously to maintain its pledge of increasing base money, its key policy gauge, at an annual pace of 60-70 trillion yen ($590-$688 billion). The BOJ also maintained its view on the domestic economy, noting it continues to recover at a moderate pace.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a news conference from 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT).
The BOJ has stood pat since launching an intense burst of stimulus last April, when it pledged to double base money via aggressive asset purchases to achieve its 2 percent inflation target in roughly two years.
The Japanese yen was flat against the U.S. dollar at 101.70 following the decision, while the benchmark index was down 0.6 percent, little changed from earlier levels.