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Ueda: BOJ rate decisions depend on prices, economic trends

Nov 19 (NHK) - Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Kazuo says the BOJ makes decisions on interest rates by carefully assessing all risk factors at each monetary policy meeting.

Ueda made the comments on Monday in a speech to business leaders in Nagoya City, central Japan.

He pointed to two current uncertainties for the central bank's baseline outlook for economic activity and prices.

First, Ueda says the bank has to pay careful attention to developments in the US and China, the world's two largest economies. This includes the election of Donald Trump as the next US President.

He says: "We are paying close attention to the policies being considered by the next president as decisions made in the US have a significant influence on the global economy."

Ueda says the other key factor is wage hikes in Japan, which have not caught up with the increase in price inflation.

The governor again indicated that if economic activity and prices move in line with the bank's baseline forecast, it will consider raising the policy interest rate.

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