Yen steady after Bank of Japan meeting

TOKYO: The yen was steady in Asian trade Thursday after the Bank of Japan's new management team issued its most upbeat assessment yet of the world's third-largest economy, while holding fire on any new easing moves.

The greenback was at 99.70 yen in midday trading against 99.74 yen in New York Wednesday afternoon, while the euro weakened to 131.51 yen from 131.70 yen.

The European single currency fetched $1.3189 from $1.3204.

The Japanese central bank's board voted unanimously to hold off expanding a massive monetary easing programme as it wrapped up a two-day policy meeting, saying in a statement that the "economy is recovering moderately".

The statement marked a step-up from last month when the BoJ said the economy was "starting to recover moderately", but the bank's decision to stand pat on its asset-buying programme was widely expected.

"The impact of the BoJ statement on the market was limited as the wording was within a range of our expectations," said Yosuke Hosokawa, head of FX sales team with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.