Bank of Japan mulls fresh easing
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has begun examining a further easing of its already ultra-loose monetary policy and may make a decision on such a move as early as this month, the Nikkei newspaper reported today. The board will debate whether to expand the fund-supply operation it put in place in December, at which the BOJ extends loans to commercial banks at the policy rate of 0.1 per cent, the paper said. The central bank will either boost the amount of funds it supplies in the operation from the current 10 trillion yen or extend the duration of the loans to six months from the present three months.