The Bank of Japan is widely expected to maintain its policy rate unchanged at 0.5% at a two-day meeting ending Thursday as it waits to see if Japan will be exempt from President Trump’s tariffs.

The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady and sharply cut its growth forecasts today, suggesting uncertainty surrounding US tariffs and the hit to exports could keep policy in a holding pattern for some time.

The Bank of Japan on Thursday left its key interest rate unchanged but revised down its growth forecasts, warning that US trade tariffs are fuelling economic uncertainty. Bank officials began lifting borrowing costs last year after nearly two decades of ultra-loose monetary policies aimed at kickstarting torpid economic growth in Japan.