Early on Friday, around 03:00 AM GMT, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will announce the ordinary monetary policy meeting decisions taken after a two-day brainstorming. Following the rate decision, BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will attend the press conference, around 06:00 AM GMT, to convey the logic behind the latest policy moves.

The Japanese central bank is widely expected to keep the short-term interest rate target at -0.1% while directing 10-year Japanese Government Bond (JGB) yields with the bank of /-0.50%.

As today’s BoJ monetary policy meeting is the last for Governor Haruhilo Kuroda, who fetched the Asian major from the jaws of deflation during a decade-long fight with deflation, the monetary policy announcements are crucial for the USD/JPY traders to watch.

Although the BOJ isn’t expected to offer any change in its monetary policy, the latest hawkish moves of the major central banks and the inflation fear in Japan, as well as receding real wages, highlight today’s BOJ as the key event. Also increasing the importance of the BOJ announcements are the chatters over Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s last dovish shot and welcome notes of the incoming Governor Kazuo Ueda.

Ahead of the event, FXStreet’s Valeria Bednarik said,

No changes are expected in this March meeting. Market participants anticipate the interest rate will be held at -0.1% while the Yield Curve Control (YCC) will maintain the current cap of 0.5%.  A policy shift by Kuroda in his last meeting would be a shocker, and he usually aims to avoid introducing too much noise.