BOJ keeps easing policy steady amid low inflation, Ukraine crisis

The Bank of Japan on Friday maintained its powerful monetary easing amid tepid inflation and heightened uncertainty over the crisis in Ukraine, boosting the likelihood it will be the last among major central banks in transitioning toward policy normalization.With a recent bout of inflation driven by surging commodity prices seen as temporary, the BOJ decided at its two-day policy meeting to set short-term interest rates at minus 0.1 percent and guide long-term interest rates to around zero to achieve its still elusive 2 percent inflation target.BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said inflation dr…READ FULL ARTICLE