The Bank of Japan’s newly appointed board member Junko Koeda did her best to keep various options open over the timing of the central bank’s next interest rate hike as she started her five-year term.
"The fact that there’s a need to carefully watch the economic impacts of positive interest rates doesn’t have implications over whether we should rush toward a rate hike or not,” Koeda said at her inaugural news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday. "I want to earnestly make my considerations, as there is still time until the next meeting.”
Koeda’s approach echoes that of Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s, as the bank looks to raise rates further while being careful not to send a signal regarding preferences on the timing of the next move. Her remarks are likely to keep market speculation alive over the odds of a rate change at the next meeting.
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