BOJ to weigh rate hike to 0.25% at Wednesday policy meeting

TOKYO -- The Bank of Japan is considering raising the policy interest rate, likely to 0.25%, at its meeting that concludes Wednesday, in what would mark another step toward normalizing monetary policy as wages and prices rise.

The central bank also looks to decide by how much and how fast to reduce its monthly purchases of Japanese government bonds, with market watchers seeing a cut in half to 3 trillion yen ($19.5 billion) by the end of fiscal 2025 as likely.