BoJ's Kuroda: Risks to the economy and prices remain skewed to the downside

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda was out with some comments in the last hour, saying that risks to the economy and prices remain skewed to the downside.

Additional quotes:

• The Japanese economy in a severe situation but picking up as a trend.
• The Japanese economy will continue improving.
• Prices will turn positive and accelerate as the economy improves.
• Will persistently continue with powerful easing towards the 2% inflation target.

The comments did little to influence the Japanese yen or lend any support to the USD/JPY pair, which remained depressed below the 109.00 mark, or three-week lows amid sustained USD selling bias.