By Leika Kihara
TOKYO, Nov 5 (Reuters) – Bank of Japan policymakers saw the need to keep raising interest rates, with one signalling the chance of faster-paced increases, minutes of the central bank’s September meeting showed on Thursday.
“If signs of an upward deviation in prices were observed, the BOJ would need to accelerate the pace of rate hikes,” one member was quoted as saying in the minutes.
Another member said while the BOJ did not need to take hasty action, it should guide policy appropriately “to prevent excessive and persistent price rises,” the minutes showed.
At its September meeting, the BOJ raised its key interest rate to a 31-year high of 1.25% and signalled a shift in its policy approach to one focused on keeping the rate of inflation from overshooting the bank’s 2% target.
The central bank kept its key interest rate steady at a subsequent meeting in October but signalled its vigilance to inflation risk, cementing market expectations for a hike in December.
At the September meeting, many board members projected consumer inflation to accelerate from autumn as surveys reflected an increasing number of price hikes for food items, the minutes showed.
Many members also shared the view that inflation risb will remain elevated due to a renewed rise in crude oil prices brought about by prolonged conflict in the Middle East, the minutes showed.
“The BOJ should continue to act in a timely manner without becoming overly cautious” about raising interest rates and seek to deepen analysis over inflation risk, one member was quoted as saying.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Additional reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Christopher Cushing)
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