BOJ's Policy Decision Triggers 'Samurai' Rage!

<p>&nbsp;Rumors swirling from Mount Fuji have finally been answered after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced its latest policy decision.</p><p><br /></p><p>Today's meeting saw the central bank announce no changes to its yield curve control (YCC) and monetary policy.</p><p><br /></p><p>In a policy statement, the BOJ maintained a +/-0.5% cap on the 10-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield and a yield target of around 0%, with interest rates remaining negative at -0.10%.</p><p><br /></p><p>Earlier, there were reports that policymakers will discuss changes to the yield curve control policy at today's meeting.</p><p><br /></p><p>This responded to the yen's gains once the results were released, where it plunged to 141.00 against the USD.</p><p><br /></p><p>However, the currency bounced back to around 138.50 (time of writing) after investors digested further statements from the BOJ which also offered flexibility in its JGB target range and larger bond purchases.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The central bank promised greater flexibility in its target range for JGBs as well as a swifter response to risks in the yield curve.</p><p><br /></p><p>To promote the formation of a yield curve that is a consistent guideline, it will continue to purchase large-scale JGBs and immediately react to each maturity.</p><p><br /></p><p>It will widen the range of 3-5 year bond purchases, offering to buy as much as 750 billion yen each time, up from 725 billion yen.</p><p><br /></p><p>In addition, it also raised the forecast for median core Inflation in fiscal year 2023 to 3.2% from 2.5% projected last April.</p><p><br /></p><p>The focus next turned to Governor Kazuo Ueda's speech on his latest decision today.</p>