The
Bank of Japan (BOJ) launched a new 30 trillion-yen ($279 billion) lending
program at an emergency meeting to support small businesses struggling with the
pandemic.
The
Bank of Japan's response to the Corona pandemic has now reached a total of 75
trillion yen, the BOJ said in its monetary policy statement on Friday.
The
total volume of the Japanese government's benchmark stimulus package in
response to the pandemic was 117 trillion yen.
Like
other lending programs launched by the Central Bank of Japan to cope with the
repercussions of the pandemic, the new facility will encourage corporate
lending by offering the Bank of Japan interest-free loans to commercial banks
for one year, in turn providing loans to small and medium-sized financial
institutions.
This
lending plan is scheduled to remain in force mainly until March 2021, funded by
the Bank of Japan and managed by commercial banks.
The
BOJ kept the interest rate unchanged at 0.1 percent and asset purchase policy
unchanged.
More
to mention, BOJ has stated that Central Bank Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will not
hold a press conference.
It
should be noted that today's economic data showed that consumer prices in Japan
contracted for the first time in more than three years.
Data
from Japan’s National Bureau of Statistics showed that the annual consumer
price index (CPJ) slowed again in April, with the index growing by only 0.1
percent against a forecast of 0.2 percent growth and an earlier reading of 0.4
percent.
National
inflation also fell strongly during the same period, marking its first negative
value since 2016 with an estimated 0.2 percent contraction. The national
consumer price index excluding food prices contracted by 0.1 percent compared
to a previous reading of 0.4 percent.
As of 10:02 GMT, the
Japanese yen rose against the U.S dollar by 0.11 percent at 107.50, while the highest
level recorded during the session was at 107.77.