(Bloomberg) -- The yen held gains against the dollar after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged as expected and indicated that the price trend reaches 2% for the first time.
Japan’s currency rose about 0.24% to 157.34 per dollar after board members voted 8-1 in favor of the decision. The move was expected by all 53 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Read: BOJ Holds Rates, Says Inflation Trend Hits Target For First Time
The move offered signs of a return to the yen’s traditional haven role after years in which wide interest-rate differentials and Japan’s large overseas investment flows outweighed demand for the currency during bouts of market stress.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists have said the yen is becoming a more effective hedge against an artificial intelligence-driven market shock as changes in Japan’s policy backdrop reduce the risk of the currency weakening sharply when global yields rise.