Moody's: The Bank of Japan may raise interest rates to 1% by the middle of the year.

Moody's Analytics stated in a report that it is expected that the Bank of Japan will maintain its interest rates this week and may raise them to 1% around the middle of the year. The institution stated that the escalation of conflicts in the Middle East has increased the risk of accelerated inflation, but the uncertainty caused by the conflicts will likely keep the Bank of Japan on hold. The institution said that a further weakening of the yen could prompt the Bank of Japan to raise rates earlier in the year. However, the institution added that slowing wage growth and sluggish real economic data make it difficult to support an aggressive rate hike plan of over 1%. The Bank of Japan will announce its interest rate decision on Thursday.