TOKYO: Some Bank of Japan board members called for further interest rate hikes to push the central bank's policy rate closer to levels deemed neutral to the economy, a summary of opinions at their June policy meeting showed on Wednesday.
At the June 15-16 meeting, the BOJ raised rates to a 31-year high of 1% in a landmark step in its policy normalisation, signalling readiness to tighten further as it focuses on taming price pressures from the Iran-war-induced energy shock.
"Unlike in the United States and Europe, Japan's policy interest rate remains below the estimated range of the neutral interest rate. It is necessary to bring the policy rate closer to the neutral rate as soon as possible," one member was quoted as saying.
Another member said Japan's estimated neutral rate appeared to be around 2%, adding that the BOJ must raise its policy rate to that level sooner by hiking at a pace of once every few months, the summary showed.
The neutral rate is the level considered as neither cooling nor overheating the economy. - Reuters
