The Bank of Japan is widely expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged on Friday, with investors focused on any indications of a less dovish stance as the yen trades near a 34-year low.
Gov. Kazuo Ueda and his fellow board members will keep short-term interest rates at around 0% to 0.1% at the end of their two-day policy meeting, after the central bank called time on its massive monetary easing program last month. according to all but one of the 53 economists surveyed.
Just five weeks after that monumental shift, Ueda faces the challenge of striking a delicate balance between putting a floor under the yen and supporting a fragile economic recovery.
