Kumamoto, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s underlying inflation is gradually stabilizing at around the Bank of Japan’s 2 pct target, Junko Koeda, a member of the central bank’s Policy Board, said on Thursday. The BOJ will adjust interest rates “in a timely and appropriate manner” to prevent inflation from rising above 2 pct, Koeda said at a press conference in Kumamoto, a city in southwestern Japan. In a speech at a meeting earlier in the day, Koeda said that the BOJ needs to raise interest rates further after raising them to 1.25 pct, a 31-year high, last month. “Given that there have been considerable upside risks to prices…the bank should not become overly cautious about raising the policy interest rate,” she said. At the press conference, Koeda did not suggest a specific timetable for future rate hikes, saying, “I don’t have any specific pace in mind.” She said that the Japanese economy “remains resilient even in the face of external shocks,” such as the war in the Middle East, helping underlying inflation stabilize. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
