The BOJ maintained its policy rate at 0.5% at the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy meeting, but repeated its pledge to continue increasing borrowing costs if the economy moves in line with its projections

The yen dropped on Thursday after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) left rates unchanged, while other currencies held in tight ranges as investors weighed a trade agreement between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump said he had agreed to lower tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing resuming U.S. soybean purchases, keeping rare earths exports flowing and cracking down on the illicit trade of fentanyl. But details were sketchy and China has yet to comment.

The BOJ maintained its policy rate at 0.5% at the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy meeting, but repeated its pledge to continue increasing borrowing costs if the economy moves in line with its projections.

Still, investors saw the decision as a cautious one from the BOJ, with only two policymakers again calling for a hike – the same as in September – underscoring the central bank’s gradual pace in normalising policy.

That heaped pressure on the yen, which was last down 0.1% at 152.83 per dollar , languishing near an eight-month low.

The euro rose 0.3% to 177.70 yen.

The lack of a rate hike was not a big surprise, because the market wasn’t expecting a hike anyway, but I think the market was kind of disappointed that the number of dissenters remained at two, said Sim Moh Siong, a currency strategist at Bank of Singapore. There’s a contrast here between a Bank of Japan that’s still cautious in terms of rate hikes, and a (Federal Reserve) that’s cautious in terms of rate cuts.

The focus now turns to BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda’s post-meeting news briefing as investors look for clues on the timing and pace of future rate hikes.