Takahiko Wada and Leika Kihara
TOKYO (Reuters) – Core consumer prices in Japan’s capital rose 3.2% year-on-year in June, beating the central bank’s 2% target 13 Government data on Friday showed signs of widening inflationary pressures for a month in a row.
Separate data showed factory output fell more than expected in May, underscoring inflation risks for the export-reliant economy as sharp U.S. rate hikes and weak growth in China cloud the outlook for global demand .
Tokyo inflation data, seen as a leading indicator of national trends, is likely to maintain expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will phase out its massive stimulus measures this year.
Tokyo’s core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose at a median forecast of 3.3% after rising 3.1% in May.
The index excluding fresh food and fuel costs rose 3.8% year-on-year in June, after rising 3.9% in May, the data showed.
Japan’s economy is finally recovering from the trauma of the COVID-1913 pandemic, despite the risk of a global slowdown
due to With inflation already above target, speculation is rife that the Bank of Japan may soon wind down its ultra-loose monetary policy under new Governor Kazuo Ueda.
Ueda has repeatedly said Inflation will moderate in the coming months as cost drivers dissipate, and the Bank of Japan will maintain ultra-loose policy until strong wage growth ensures Japan can sustainably achieve its 2% inflation target.
But the BOJ would have strong reasons to change monetary policy if it was “quite certain” that inflation would accelerate into the BOJ, he told a seminar on Wednesday. After a period of relaxation.
