Eight of nine Japanese research institutes and financial institutions surveyed do not think the Bank of Japan will end its "zero-interest-rate" policy this month.
Only three of 27 institutions responding to the survey said the central bank is likely to lift its zero-interest rate policy at its policymaking meeting on Friday.
The BOJ has steered the unsecured overnight call money rate effectively to zero since February 1999 with the aim of propping up the economy.
Most of the research institutes and financial institutions said the policy is unlikely to be terminated because of weak Tokyo stock prices and slowness of the domestic economic pickup. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed at the year's lowest level Friday, down 147.08 points to 15,667.36.
The Sanwa Research Institute noted that more time is needed for banks to solve their debt problems, while the Industrial Bank of Japan said the improvement in employment and wages has been very small so far.
Nonetheless, market speculation is strong that the BOJ will lift the zero-rate policy around September and October following the release of gross domestic product data for the April-June quarter.
The survey results show that around 16 firms expect the BOJ to end the zero-rate policy "within the next three months."