By Leika Kihara
TOKYO, May 12 (Reuters) – Some Bank of Japan policymakers in April saw the need to raise interest rates soon, with one signalling the chance of accelerating the pace of hikes if inflationary risks heightened, a summary of opinions at last month’s meeting showed on Tuesday.
“It is quite possible the BOJ will raise interest rates from the next meeting onward, even if the future course of the Middle East conflict remains unclear,” one board member was quoted as saying in the summary.
“While there is no need to take hasty action at this point, the BOJ should raise rates soon barring evident signs of an economic slowdown,” another opinion showed.
The BOJ may need to accelerate the pace of rate hikes “without hesitation” if upward risks to price increase, a third opinion showed.
At the April 27-28 meeting, the BOJ kept its short-term policy rate steady at 0.75% but sharply raised its inflation forecasts reflecting soaring oil prices from the Iran war.
Three of the nine board members pushed for an interest-rate hike, a proposal that was rejected but underscored mounting concern over inflationary pressures from the Middle East conflict.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Tom Hogue and Shri Navaratnam)
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