The Japanese Yen spiked lower, with the benchmark USD/JPY exchange rate probing above the closely watched 145.00 figure, after the Bank of Japan issued a relatively muted monetary policy announcement. The central bank kept all the key elements of its stance unchanged. The target short-term lending rate was kept at -0.1 percent and the target for the yield on the 10-year Japanese Government Bond (JGB) remains at 0 percent. In the policy statement, the BOJ said it will end Covid-era stimulus in stages even as it extended these funding facilities for 3-6 months. In the same breath, officials said they would add to ... (full story)