By Leika Kihara
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday the central bank will continue to raise interest rates as financial conditions remain accommodative, and debate this month whether upside inflation risks were heightening.
With underlying inflation quite close to the BOJ’s 2% target, the BOJ must pay particular attention to inflationary risks in guiding policy, Ueda told a news conference after attending the G20 finance leaders’ gathering.
On the other hand, the BOJ must carefully scrutinize how the cumulative impact of its past rate hikes affect the economy, he added.
Data released after the BOJ’s previous meeting in July suggest that economic and price conditions were moving roughly in line with its projection made in July, Ueda said.
“We will scrutinize whether the economy and prices are moving in line with our baseline scenario, as well as risks,” Ueda said. “We will debate these factors thoroughly, including at our next policy meeting.”
Ueda declined to comment when asked about markets near fully pricing in the chance of a rate hike at the upcoming policy meeting on September 17-18.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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