TOKYO -- Struggling to ward off upward pressure on interest rates, the Bank of Japan on Monday tried to defend its ultra-loose monetary policy with bond purchase operations, sending the Japanese currency tanking to a seven-year low.
The BOJ's signal to keep the benchmark yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds below the 0.25% target bucks the global trend of other central banks raising interest rates to rein in inflation. The BOJ's go-it-alone stance could exacerbate the yen's slide, which in turn could worsen the current-account balance and accelerate inflation.
