TOKYO, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Tuesday said it is maintaining its current monetary policy, although lowered its inflation outlook for fiscal 2017.
The central bank said in a statement after its two-day meeting that it is maintaining the short-term interest rate at minus 0.1 percent and the target for the 10-year government bond yield at zero percent.
The BOJ did, however, lower its inflation forecast for fiscal 2017 to 0.8 percent from an earlier estimate of 1.1 percent as economic improvement continues to not be notably translating into wage growth or increased private consumption.
The central bank also decided to maintain powerful monetary easing measures to continue pursuing its 2 percent inflation target, it said after the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting.
In its outlook report, the BOJ said the country's economy will expand a real 1.9 percent in the fiscal year through March, upgraded from the July forecast of 1.8 percent growth.
Japan's economy has grown for six consecutive quarters with expansion expected to continue, yet the BOJ's lofty 2 percent inflation target still remains elusive.
Core inflation stood at just 0.7 percent in September, the bank's data showed.
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