TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady on Thursday and maintained its assessment the economy was recovering moderately, even as an escalating Middle East conflict clouded the outlook.
As widely expected, the central bank left unchanged its short-term policy rate at 0.75% in a two-day meeting that ended on Thursday. Board member Hajime Takata dissented to the decision, instead calling for a hike to 1.0%.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda is expected to brief media on the decision at 3:30 p.m. (0530GMT).
(Reporting by Leika Kihara, Makiko Yamazaki, Kantaro Komiya and Satoshi SugiyamaEditing by Chang-Ran Kim)
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