BOJ Muto:Japan could suffer from US woes-Bloomberg

TOKYO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto said further U.S. housing slowdowns and market turmoil could hurt Japan's economy, making it difficult to decide when to raise interest rates, Bloomberg reported.

"We must examine both upside and downside risks carefully," Muto said in an interview conducted on Thursday. "This is quite a difficult situation."

Muto stuck to the view that the Japanese economy is likely to expand moderately but also said he was fully aware of the downside risks to the U.S. economy, citing tightening in U.S. banks' lending attitude. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano)