TOKYO, Dec 12 (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan will likely maintain a pledge next week to keep raising interest rates, but stress the pace of further hikes will depend on how the economy reacts to each increase, said three sources familiar with its thinking.

Markets have almost fully priced in the chance of a rate hike ‍to 0.75% from 0.5% at the December 18-19 meeting, after Governor Kazuo Ueda essentially pre-announced such a move. Attention has shifted to how far the BOJ could raise rates before they reach a neutral level, which neither stimulates nor cools growth.

While the central bank may internally update its estimate on how far its policy rate is from levels deemed neutral, it will not use the estimate as a main communication tool on the future rate-hike path given the difficulty of

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