BoJ signals tightening as inflation fears grow

Normalising policy: People walk past the BoJ headquarters in Tokyo. The central bank is leaning toward raising its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 1.25%. — AFP

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan (BoJ) will continue to raise its benchmark interest rate to ensure that the price trend doesn’t exceed 2%, board member Kazuyuki Masu says, in comments that support widespread expectations that the bank will raise borrowing costs next week.

“BoJ will continue to raise the policy interest rate” given a prevailing price trend very close to 2% and financial conditions that remain accommodative, Masu said yesterday in a speech to business leaders in Fukui, in western Japan.