Japan's central bank left interest rates unchanged after a decision to raise them in July sent the yen soaring and added to turmoil in global markets.
Two days after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the NCB standoff came after data showed inflation in the world's fourth-largest economy rose as expected in August.
Bank of Japan officials said borrowing costs would be left at 0.25 percent, a policy decision that was widely predicted after the backlash from the previous hike.
UBS economists Masamichi Adachi and Go Kurihara said this week they saw "no reason for the bank to raise its interest rate, which could surprise the market and the public again, especially when market sentiment is still volatile."
For a long time, the ECB was an exception among major central banks, sticking to an extremely loose monetary policy, trying to achieve two percent inflation, driven by demand and fueled by rising wages.
Since April 2022, price growth has been above that target -- accelerating slightly to 2.8% in August -- but the CBA questioned the extent to which this was due to temporary factors such as the war in Ukraine. | BGNES
