Bank of Japan officials say weak consumer spending will complicate a decision to raise interest rates at a policy meeting next week.
Some officials believe skipping a rate hike in July is an option to have more time to examine incoming data to confirm whether consumer spending will pick up as expected, the sources said. Some of them believe the BOJ should avoid appearing too aggressive, they said.
At the same time, other officials are open to raising rates at the July meeting as inflation remains broadly in line with forecasts, the people added. They see the BOJ’s policy rate range of 0% to 0.1% as very narrow and see a risk of missing an opportunity to raise rates given the many uncertainties ahead, the people said.
