New Delhi, Dec. 19 -- The Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate to a 30-year high on Friday in a widely anticipated move that could rattle world markets.

The two-day BOJ policy meeting wrapped up with the 0.25% hike in its benchmark short-term rate. That took the policy rate to 0.75%, its highest level since September 1995.

In a statement, the central bank said the decision was unanimous and that it expected to raise rates further if there are no major changes in the outlook for the economy.

The 0.75% rate is still low by most standards, but the BOJ has kept that rate near or below zero for years, trying to pull the economy out of a deflationary funk. Since the pandemic, most other central banks, like the U.S. Federal Reserve, have ...