The BoJ left their benchmark rate unchanged at 0.10% which was widely expected as deflation remains a concern. Indeed, consumer prices fell by 1.1% in March maintaining the pace from the month prior at a time when other countries are seeing inflation reach target levels. The central bank refrained from adding to their special monetary stimulus efforts, but is considering new efforts to boost the economy. The Bank of Japan said in its policy statement that it was looking into other "possible ways to support private financial institutions in terms of fund provisioning with a view to strengthening the foundations for economic growth." However, policy makers did alter their forecast for inflation and no expect core price to rise to 0.1% in 2011 versus a previous forecast of -0.2%. An unexpected jump in retail trade and continued growth in industrial production were encouraging signs that the economic recovery is on track.
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