BOJ Is Said to Gain Confidence in Wage Growth Before Rate Call

Bank of Japan officials are getting more confident over the strength of wage growth, according to people familiar with the matter, a development that supports the view among traders and economists that the BOJ will scrap its negative interest rate in March or April.

A consensus has yet to emerge among officials on whether the central bank should move at the end of its policy meeting on March 19 or wait until April. While some officials can back the BOJ raising rates in March given the strength in wages, others take the view that the bank won’t be able to confirm the price target is in sight by then given uncertainties over how wages will sustain inflation, the people said.