Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the timing of the next interest rate hike was "approaching" as the economy was moving in line with the central bank's forecasts, the Nikkei newspaper reported, leaving open the chance of a December rate increase.

The next rate hike is “nearing in the sense that economic data are on track.” At the time of writing, the USD/JPY pair is trading around 150.26, up 0.42% on the day.

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Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said interest-rate hikes are “nearing” as inflation and economic trends develop in line with the central bank’s forecasts, without explicitly supporting an increase in December.

The yen jumped as much as 1.2% against the U.S. dollar to a six-week high on Friday, after faster-than-expected inflation in Tokyo supported bets for a Bank of Japan interest rate hike next month. The dollar sagged against most major peers in trading thinned by the U.

The Japanese yen rose to a six-week high against the dollar Friday. While trading was thin because of the Black Friday holiday in the U.S., the moves are still worth watching after volatility in the Asian currency sparked market turmoil earlier this year.