Some BOJ members saw scope to hike rates further, July meeting minutes show

TOKYO (Reuters) – At least two of the Bank of Japan’s nine board members saw scope to raise interest rates further, minutes of the central bank’s July policy meeting showed on Thursday.

But several other members warned of risks to the economy that warranted moving cautiously, the minutes showed, highlighting a rift within the board on the future pace of interest rate hikes.

At the July meeting, the BOJ raised short-term interest rates to 0.25% and unveiled a detailed plan to slow its massive bond buying, taking another step towards phasing out a decade of huge stimulus.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Kim Coghill)