Bank of Japan board members discussed how to use estimates on the economy's neutral interest rate to determine further hikes in borrowing costs, with one saying the BOJ's policy rate was still far from that level,

The Bank of Japan is likely to wait until the summer before it next raises interest rates, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Most Read from BloombergWhat Happened to Hanging Out on the Street?

Further deliberations are expected to be required for the Bank of Japan to explore future interest rate hikes, with its key policy rate having approached the highest level in three decades, threatening flagging consumption.