BOJ Is Said Leaning to April Hold While Keeping Hawkish Stance

The Bank of Japan is leaning toward keeping its policy rate unchanged next week given uncertainties stemming from the war in Iran, with officials still committed to raising borrowing costs sooner or later, according to people familiar with the matter.

Officials see little need to rush to hike the benchmark interest rate when the economic outlook can still shift considerably because of the highly fluid situation in the Middle East, the people said.