The Bank of Japan on Friday released an updated estimate on the country's natural rate of interest as part of its efforts to enhance communication as it ends an era of ultra-low rates. The release came amid increased market attention to how close the central bank's short-term policy rate has approached levels deemed neutral to the economy, which is key to the pace and timing of additional hikes. Advertisement In the updated estimate, Japan's natural rate of interest, also known as the neutral rate that neither cools nor overheats the economy, stood in a range of around -0.9 per cent to +0.5 per cent, the central bank ... (full story)