BOJ raises economic assessment for eight of Japan's nine regions

In its latest quarterly report released on Thursday, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) upped the economic assessment for eight out of Japan’s nine regions.

The Japanese central bank, however, maintained the assessment for one of the country’s nine regions.

“Many regions said their economies are starting to pick up or showing signs of pickup,” the BOJ mentioned in its report.

In the July report, the BOJ slashed the economic assessment for all of Japan’s nine regions.

USD/JPY sidelined around 106.00

USD/JPY holds steady around 106.00 heading into the European open, as markets remain divided between risk-on rally on the global stocks and broad US dollar weakness, in the wake of the optimism about the US fiscal stimulus.