BOJ to Discuss Rate Hike at Every Meeting: Governor Ueda

Asheville, North Carolina, Sept. 1 (Jiji Press)–The Bank of Japan will discuss whether to raise interest rates at every meeting, including the next gathering on Sept. 17-18, Governor Kazuo Ueda said Tuesday. “We’ll fully discuss (a rate increase) at every policy meeting, including the next one,” Ueda said at a press conference following a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Asheville, North Carolina. He expressed confidence in achieving the Japanese central bank’s 2 pct inflation target, saying that underlying inflation is “quite close” to it. Ueda said Japanese economic data released after the BOJ’s last policy meeting in July “came out broadly in line with our expectations.” The BOJ will consider the pace of rate increases in light of developments in the Middle East and foreign exchange markets, he said. Asked about financial market speculation that the BOJ will raise rates at the September meeting, Ueda said he would not comment on daily market movements. On U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s calls for an early rate hike by the BOJ, Ueda said, “It’s up to each of us to comment or not comment” about the Japanese central bank’s policy. The BOJ governor said he and Bessent “had useful discussions on various themes” when they met on Sunday. Ueda also said he has held talks with U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]