TOKYO, Dec 16 - The Bank of Japan further upgraded its assessment of the economy in a monthly report on Tuesday, saying conditions were gradually recovering. It had said last month that conditions were beginning to recover. The report said the year-on-year change in the consumer price index was likely to hover near zero for a while due to the high price of rice, but that the trend still pointed towards a slight fall. "Look ahead, the economy will continue recovering but the pace will likely remain modest," it said. The central bank had also effectively raised its view in last month's report. Earlier on Tuesday the BOJ ended a two-day monetary policy meeting in which it decided to keep policy unchanged, drawing comfort from growing signs that the nation's economic recovery is taking a firmer hold.//www..com