By Leika Kihara

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda likely left Washington last week with little conviction that global headwinds will allow the central bank to raise interest rates as soon as this month, with finance officials from around the world warning of downside risks amid renewed U.S.-China trade tensions.

But the resilience of the global economy, which was touted by the International Monetary Fund in its latest World Economic Outlook last week, also gives him cover to proceed with a near-term rate hike if a hawkish-leaning BOJ board prefers to move sooner rather than later.

Ueda, as a result, left his options open by offering few clues on the timing of a rate hike, which markets bet will happen by January of next year.

“There’s not much of a gap in how I se

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