The Bank of Japan (BoJ) released its interest rate decision on Thursday. 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 BoJ board members voted 8-1 to keep monetary policy unchanged.

The BoJ noted that the country's economy continued to recover moderately, "although exports and production are affected by the slowdown in emerging economies".

The central bank said that the annual inflation in Japan was flat, but inflation expectations seems to be rising.

The BoJ expect the inflation to be about 0% "for the time being", due to low energy prices.