BoJ Summary of Opinions: Member says appropriate to continue raising rates

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) published the Summary of Opinions from the October monetary policy meeting, with the key findings noted below.  

Key quotes

One member said maintaining policy is suitable to assess risks around economy, prices a bit more. 

One member notes some economic weakness, urges careful monitoring of economic and price outlook. 

One member says appropriate to continue raising rates as underlying inflation nears price target levels. 

One member said central bank should raise rates when feasible without excessive caution. 

One member said Japan entering new phase requiring faster rate hikes toward neutral levels. 

One member said underlying inflation has hit 2%, BoJ must raise policy rate to neutral level soon. 

One member said BOJ must observe financial conditions for several months after each rate increase in adjusting monetary easing. 

One member said central bank must move policy rate to neutral early for flexible response in hikes and cuts. 

One member said must watch risk future rate hike will weigh on economy, push down inflation. 

One member says Japan’s neutral rate likely well above 1%. 

One member said next rate increase unlikely to significantly hurt economy on net basis. 

One member said outcome of next year's annual pay talks warrants attention. 

One member said wage growth for next year unlikely to rise much from this year, risk of second-round effects low. 

Market reaction

At press time, the USD/JPY pair trades 0.12% higher at around 158.07.