BOJ's Kuroda sees no need to deepen negative rates now to fight pandemic

TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday he saw no need to take interest rates deeper into negative territory now, as the central bank's immediate focus was to pump money into cash-strapped firms and keep financial markets stable.The BOJ applies negative rates to only a small portion of deposits financial institutions park with the central bank, which means there is "still substantial room for further reducing the policy rate," Kuroda said."At this moment, we..