BOJ’s Ueda vows to keep raising rates if underlying inflation accelerates

(Corrects to “because” from “to ensure” in paragraph 2)

TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday the central bank will keep raising interest rates if it becomes more convinced that underlying inflation will hit its 2% target.

The BOJ is keeping real interest rates negative because underlying inflation is still below its 2% target, Ueda told parliament.

“Once we have more conviction that underlying inflation will approach 2% or hover around that level, we will continue to raise interest rates to adjust the degree of monetary support,” Ueda said.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)