Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday the central bank will debate next week whether to raise interest rates, based on its fresh quarterly growth and inflation forecasts. In remarks made at a meeting with regional bank executives,

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda echoed recent comments that have revived market expectations for imminent policy action.

The yen surged as Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda joined his deputy in strengthening market expectations for a potential interest-rate hike next week, signaling the central bank is doing its utmost to avoid a global market crash that followed July’s hike.

Following Ueda’s remarks, the yen strengthened as much as 0.4% to ¥157.34 against the dollar, after earlier hovering around the ¥158 level.

Speaking at a gathering of regional bank executives, Ueda said Japan’s central bank would raise interest rates if improvements in the economy and prices continue

Ueda stated that the timing of interest rate hikes will largely depend on the economic policies of the new U.S. administration and the progress of this year’s wage negotiations in Japan. The yen's USD/JPY pair fell 0.4% on Wednesday, meaning the yen strengthened 0.4% against the U.S. dollar.

Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday that the board members “will debate at next week's meeting whether to hike rates.” Will raise policy rate this year if economic, price conditions continue to improve. How to proceed with monetary policy adjustment will depend on economic, price, financial conditions at the time.