Bank of Japan to weigh whether to raise rates at Dec. meeting: chief

NAGOYA – Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Monday the central bank will weigh the pros and cons of raising its policy rate at the next policy meeting later this month, touching on the need to adjust the degree of easing without being “too late or too early.”

In a meeting with local business leaders in Nagoya, central Japan, Ueda said the likelihood of its baseline scenario for inflation being realized is “gradually increasing,” noting that currency moves are more likely than in the past to affect prices.

Ueda’s remarks came as financial markets expect the central bank will go ahead with another interest rate hike at its Dec. 18-19 meeting amid inflationary pressures, partly due to the yen’s depreciation. A weak yen raises import costs for resource-scarce Japan.