The Bank of Japan will continue to roll back decades of easy policy settings if economic data develop in line with its forecasts, a policy board member said.

“It will be necessary to adjust the degree of easing” in monetary policy if inflationary trends align with projections, Hajime Takata said in a speech in Ishikawa, Japan, on Thursday.

Takata’s remarks reinforce the message delivered recently by Governor Kazuo Ueda that the bank will continue to normalize its policy settings as economic conditions allow. At the same time, he signaled there’s no rush to move immediately by citing the need to monitor financial markets after global markets saw turmoil early last month.

Takata was speaking after Japanese workers’ real wages rose for a second consecutive month in July. Within the data, a closely watched gauge that avoids sampling problems and excludes bonuses and overtime showed that wages for full-time workers increased by a record 3%.

The BOJ has said it expects solid wage growth to support inflation as it seeks to achieve a virtuous cycle in which rising pay fuels consumption, leading to demand-led price gains.

Almost all economists predict the BOJ will stand pat when the board next sets policy on Sept. 20. Most expect a move sometime between October and January.

  - Bloomberg