Citing five sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported on Friday that the Bank of Japan was leaning toward maintaining its yield curve control (YCC) strategy at next week's policy meeting.

"Inflation is accelerating more than expected. But the key is whether the increase is sustainable, which will depend largely on corporate profits and next year's wage outlook," one of the sources told Reuters.

Market reaction

USD/JPY rose sharply with the initial reaction to this headline. The pair was last seen rising nearly 1% on the day at 141.40.