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A cargo ship berthes alongside a container wharf in the port of Tokyo, Japan on February 20, 2014. Toshifumi Kitamura | AFP | Getty Images The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady on
Thursday but said it would re-examine economic and price developments more thoroughly at its next policy meeting in October. "The BOJ judges that it is becoming necessary to pay closer
attention to the possibility that the momentum towards achieving its price target will be lost," the central bank said in a statement. "Taking this situation into account, the BOJ
will re-examine economic and price developments at its next policy meeting, when it updates the outlook for economic activity and prices," it said. As expected, the BOJ maintained its
short-term interest rate target at -0.1% and a pledge to guide 10-year government bond yields around 0%. The BOJ also kept intact its forward guidance — or a pledge central banks make on
future monetary policy — that commits to keeping current ultra-low interest rates "for an extended period of time, at least through around spring 2020." The decision on maintaining
its interest rate targets was made by a 7-2 vote, with board members Goushi Kataoka and Yutaka Harada dissenting. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. (0630
GMT) to explain the decision.
