Japan's central bank on Friday kept its policy rate unchanged, while downgrading its assessment of the country's economy. At the end of a two-day policy meeting, Bank of Japan's (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda and his eight board colleagues agreed to keep the benchmark interest rate steady at around 0.25 percent, holding the policy the BOJ made in July, according to a statement released by the BOJ. In late July, the BOJ decided to raise the rate from a range of around zero to 0.1 percent. "Japan's economy is likely to keep growing at a pace above its potential growth rate, with overseas economies continuing to grow moderately and as a virtuous cycle from income to spending gradually intensifies against the background of factors such as accommodative financial conditions," the central bank said. Concerning risks to the outlook, the bank said there remain high uncertainties surrounding Japan's economic activity and prices, including developments in overseas economic activity and prices, developments in commodity prices, and domestic firms' wage- and price-setting behavior. "Under these circumstances, it is necessary to pay due attention to developments in financial and foreign exchange markets and their impact on Japan's economic activity and prices," it noted. (end) mk.mt Source: Kuwait News Agency