The Bank of Japan heads into its two-day policy meeting next week with the prospects for a rate increase dimming as economic uncertainties remain high due in part to the conflict in the Middle East.

¡°We expect that the BOJ will keep the policy rate steady,¡± UBS Securities economists Go Kurihara and Masamichi Adachi wrote in a report on Wednesday.?

¡°Previously, we projected a rate hike in April, but as market expectations significantly faded, we have revised our projection.¡±?