The Bank of Japan is likely to raise interest rates next week barring any market shocks when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office, and maintain a pledge to keep pushing up borrowing costs if the economy continues to recover,

TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday the central bank will debate next week whether to raise interest rates, based on its fresh quarterly growth and inflation forecasts.

The deputy governor said the bank will discuss whether to raise the policy rate or not at the meeting, based on the latest outlook on the economy and prices.

The Bank of Japan will raise interest rates again at one of the two meetings this quarter to 0.50%, an overwhelming majority of economists surveyed by Reuters said, with most leaning toward a January move.

Under incumbent governor Kazuo Ueda, the BOJ ended Kuroda's stimulus measures in March and raised short-term interest rates to 0.25% in July. Ueda has signalled a readiness to raise rates further if Japan continues to progress towards durably reaching 2% inflation.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda sent a fresh reminder to bankers that he’s going to raise the benchmark rate if the economy continues to improve this year.