BOJ eyeing September rate hike, faster pace of tightening, sources say

TOKYO, Aug 14 : The Bank of Japan is set to raise interest rates as soon as September and is considering hiking more aggressively thereafter from the current pace of roughly twice a year, said three sources familiar with its thinking.Such a move would reflect the BOJ's growing alarm over price pressures from the Middle East conflict, strong global AI demand and the yen's downtrend, which has persisted despite last month's rare Japan-U.S. joint intervention."An early rate hike has come into sight," one of the sources said, signalling a strong chance the BOJ will raise rates at its next policy meeting on September 17 and 18."The BOJ could also accelerate the pace of rate increases," the source said, a view echoed by another source. Since exiting a massive, decade-long stimulus in 2024, the B