JGBs remain little changed after BoJ stands pat on monetary policy decision

The Japanese government bonds remained little changed Thursday after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady on Thursday and maintained its upbeat view of the economy, signaling its conviction that a solid recovery will gradually accelerate inflation towards its 2 percent target without additional stimulus.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, hovered around 0.02 percent, the yield on long-term 30-year slipped 1 basis point to 0.83 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year traded 1 basis point higher at -0.12 percent by 04:40 GMT.

In a widely expected move, the BoJ maintained the 0.1 percent interest it charges on a portion of excess reserves that financial institutions park at the central bank. At the two-day policy meeting that ended on Thursday, it also kept its yield target for 10-year Japanese government bonds around zero percent. The decision was made by an eight-to-one vote.

But new board member Goushi Kataoka dissented to the BOJ's decision to maintain its interest rate targets, saying the current monetary policy was insufficient to push inflation up to 2 percent during fiscal 2019.

Lastly, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a news conference at 06:30 GMT to explain the policy decision.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.35 percent higher at 20,382.00 by 04:45GMT, while at 04:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Yen Strength Index remained highly bearish at -109.63 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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