Japanese stocks slumped for a third week, the longest losing streak since April, as oil prices surged following renewed attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold as expected at a policy meeting.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 3.4% Thursday to 53,372.53. The broader Topix index fell 2.9% to 3,609.40 as of 3:31 p.m. Tokyo time. Electric appliance makers and trading companies were the heaviest drags on the index. Japan’s stock market will be shut Friday for a national holiday.

“It looks like we’re seeing a pullback that gives back yesterday’s gains,” said Shuutarou Yasuda a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory Co. “US equities declined and returned lower, and with oil prices remaining elevated, selling is leading today’s market.”

The BOJ kept its kept its policy rate unchanged as uncertainty surrounding the Iran conflict clouds the economic outlook.

The central bank’s remarks on the impact of oil on underlying CPI suggest that even cost-push inflation caused by higher crude could serve as a reason for a rate hike, said Hiroshi Namioka, chief strategist at T&D Asset Management Co. That “leaves the door open to the possibility of an April rate hike,” he said.

Semiconductor related companies from Advantest Corp. to Tokyo Electron Ltd. declined more than 2% after Micron Technology Inc. warned that it will need to spend heavily on production to meet burgeoning demand.

Written by: Aya Wagatsuma and Momoka Yokoyama — With assistance from Toshiro Hasegawa  @Bloomberg

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