As a result, market interest rates have been stable at extremely low levels and firms’ funding costs have been declining.
However, at the Monetary Policy Meeting held on October 4 and 5, 2010, it was judged that the economic growth rate was likely to be somewhat lower than the projection presented in the July 2010 interim assessment, reflecting the slowdown in the U.S. economy since summer 2010 and the effect of the appreciation of the yen on business sentiment.