Japan's central bank may raise rates soon
Ap, Tokyo
Japanese ministers gave conflicting signals Tuesday about what the central bank should do about interest rates amid rising speculation the Bank of Japan will raise rates next week.Banking and economy minister Kaoru Yosano said that the economic, price and market conditions were beginning to fall into place to allow the bank to lift interest rates after keeping them at zero for five years. But later in the day, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki urged the bank to hold off so as not to torpedo the economy's budding recovery. The comments come a day after the central bank's closely-watched "tankan" survey showed that companies are more optimistic about the future. Those results and signs of consistently rising prices after years of deflation has spurred speculation that the central bank will raise interest rates by a quarter point after its two-day policy meeting that starts July 13. Yosano appeared to express support for raising borrowing rates soon.
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