Bank Of Japan Cuts Inflation Forecast, Keeps Policy Unchanged

The Bank of Japan trimmed its forecasts for inflation and economic growth Wednesday but kept the scope of its monetary easing unchanged as widely expected. The central bank said the current fiscal year, ending in March 2016, would see the core consumer price index rise 0.7%, down from its April forecast for a gain of 0.8%. Likewise, it said the economy would grow by 1.7%, down from a previous projection of 2%. The Bank of Japan also cut its core CPI forecasts for fiscal 2016 and 2017, but kept its growth estimates for those years unchanged. The Japanese yen showed little reaction to the new outlook, with the dollar buying �123.45.