Bank of Japan (Boj) Governor Kazuo Ueda said Friday that the central bank must maintain a welcoming monetary policy to support economic growth and ensure that the underlying inflation gradually moves to the 2%target.

UEDA told Parliament that the recent increase in the consumer price index over 2% target has been led by cost-push factors, such as increased foods and fuel prices that are likely to spread.

The comments come a week after the bank raised the benchmark loan costs to 0.5%, the highest in over 16 years, and could aggravate fear of a yen-led risk-off in global markets, including Cryptocurrencies, as observed in August.

However, the governor claimed that rate increases will continue if the economy develops as expected. According to ForexLive, dealers see the next Boj Rate hiking trip in July.