Banking

Bank of Japan raises interest rates for first time since 2007

Central bank set a new policy rate range of between 0 per cent and 0.1 per cent, shifting from a -0.1 per cent short-term interest rate

In ending the negative rate, Governor Kazuo Ueda makes history by turning the page on the BOJ’s experimental monetary easing programme after years in which Japan’s central bank was a global outlier. Picture: Getty

The Bank of Japan pulled the curtain on the most aggressive monetary easing programme in modern history by ending the world’s last negative interest rate along with its yield curve control mechanism.

The central bank set a new policy rate range of between 0 per cent and 0.1 per cent, shifting from a -0.1 per cent short-term interest rate, according to a statement after a two-day board gathering that concluded Tuesday. The bank said financial ...