BOJ Kuroda: Steady U.S. growth may push up rates, dollar

Haruhiko Kuroda, Governor of the Bank of Japan attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday U.S. economic growth and inflation may accelerate in coming years, which may push up interest rates and the value of the dollar. "The U.S. economy is likely to accelerate growth this year and next year, and price inflation may somewhat rise. All of (these factors) may make interest rates rise and the dollar might also appreciate," Kuroda told reporters after attending a session of the World Economic Forum. "But exchange rate movement is very difficult to predict. You can not say anything definite because exchange rates are affected by so many factors, not just interest rates (and) economic growth," he said. (Reporting by Martinne Geller in DAVOS and Leika Kihara in TOKYO)