Bank of Japan maintains ultralow rate policy, diverges further from peers

The Bank of Japan on Friday maintained its ultraeasy monetary policy in defiance of growing market pressure to tweak it, unfazed by the prospect of further yen weakness as it lags far behind major peers forging ahead with rate hikes to fight inflation.Still, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda warned that the recent sharp depreciation of the Japanese currency is "negative" for the economy and the central bank will closely watch foreign exchange moves, after the no-change decision at a two-day policy meeting sent the yen sharply lower against the U.S. dollar.In a widely expected move, the BOJ decided t…READ FULL ARTICLE