The Bank of Japan (BoJ) released its interest rate decision on Tuesday. The BoJ kept its monetary policy unchanged (interest rate: 0.00-0.10%, monetary base target: 275 trillion yen). The central bank will expand its monetary base at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen. This decision was expected by analysts.

The central bank voted 8-1 to keep its monetary policy unchanged. The BoJ said that Japan's economy has continued to recover moderately.

Japan's central bank downgraded its consumer inflation forecast to around zero per cent "for the time being" due to the decline in energy prices.