TOKYO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan kept monetarypolicy steady on Thursday but said it would re-examine economicand price developments more thoroughly at its next policymeeting in October.
"The BOJ judges that it is becoming necessary to pay closerattention to the possibility that the momentum towards achievingits price target will be lost," the central bank said in astatement.
"Taking this situation into account, the BOJ will re-examineeconomic and price developments at its next policy meeting, whenit updates the outlook for economic activity and prices," itsaid.
As expected, the BOJ maintained its short-term interest ratetarget at -0.1% and a pledge to guide 10-year government bondyields around 0%.
The BOJ also kept intact its forward guidance - or a pledgecentral banks make on future monetary policy - that commits tokeeping current ultra-low interest rates "for an extended periodof time, at least through around spring 2020."
The decision on maintaining its interest rate targets wasmade by a 7-2 vote, with board members Goushi Kataoka and YutakaHarada dissenting.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a news conference at3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT) to explain the decision.(Reporting by Leika Kihara, Daniel Leussink, Tetsushi Kajimotoand Kaori KanekoEditing by Chang-Ran Kim)