The Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged Friday and downgraded its assessment of inflation, falling further behind its global peers at the end of a busy week for central banks.
The BOJ maintained the settings on its yield curve control program and asset purchases, it said in a statement, a result forecast by all 45 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The central bank downgraded its assessment of inflation after raising it in January. It now sees the core consumer price index in a range of 0.5 percent to 1 percent, from around 1 percent previously.
While the BOJ struggles, the Federal Reserve this week raised interest rates for the sixth time in 18 months and set a steeper rate-hike trajectory. The European Central Bank plotted the end of its asset purchases this year, signaling confidence in economic momentum in the eurozone.