BOJ Doubles Bond Purchases in First Kuroda Easing Salvo

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda began his onslaught to end two decades of economic stagnation and 15 years of deflation as the central bank pledged unprecedented easing, driving the yen's biggest slide since 2011.

The BOJ plans to purchase 7.5 trillion yen ($78.6 billion) of bonds a month and double the monetary base, which includes cash in circulation, in two years, the central bank said in Tokyo today. That exceeded economists’ median estimate of 5.2 trillion yen a month and is the biggest move since quantitative easing began in 2001.