SINGAPORE, June 16 Reuters The yen lost some ground after the Bank of Japan on Friday kept ultralow interest rates and forecast that inflation will slow later this year reiterating its dovish stance that runs counter to hawkish policies taken by peers globally.

As widely expected, the BOJ maintained its 0.1 shortterm interest rate target and a 0 cap on the 10year bond yield set under its yield curve control YCC policy.

The yen fell broadly following the decision and hit a fresh 15year low of 153.97 per euro , extending a more than 1 slide in the previous session.

Against the U.S. dollar, the Japanese currency was last roughly 0.25 lower at 140.66 yen .

Investors are now awaiting Governor Kazuo Ueda39;s press conference 0630 GMT for his views on inflation, the policy outlook and the yen39;s renewed declines.

While the decision itself was not a major surprise, a few participants … had expected a YCC adjustment, and the financial market reacted with higher stock prices and a weaker yen, said Hirofumi Suzuki, chief FX strategist at SMBC.

The focus will now be on whether the YCC framework will be adjusted along with an upward revision to the inflation outlook at the monetary policy meeting in July.

Elsewhere, the euro was poised for its best week in months after the European Central Bank ECB raised borrowing costs to a 22year high and signalled further rate hikes to come.

That and some soft U.S. economic data saw the dollar fall broadly as traders scaled back…