RPT-BOJ trims growth, price forecasts; keeps policy steady
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TOKYO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan on Thursday trimmed its economic and price forecasts for the current fiscal year ending in March 2021, heightening expectations it will maintain its massive stimulus for the time being to cushion the blow from COVID-19.
As widely expected, the central bank kept monetary policy steady, including a -0.1% target for short-term interest rates and a pledge to guide long-term rates around 0%.
It also made no changes to a package of measures to ease corporate funding strains caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is expected to hold a news conference to explain the policy decision and the new forecasts, which were produced as part of the BOJ's quarterly report on the economic and price outlook. (Reporting by Leika Kihara, Daniel Leussink, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Kaori Kaneko Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
