TOKYO – Japan’s core consumer inflation slowed in July but stayed above the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) price target for the 16th straight month, with cost-push inflation likely to keep the central bank from rushing to phase out monetary easing anytime soon.
The 3.1-percent rise in the core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes volatile fresh food prices, matched a median market forecast, following a 3.3-percent increase in the previous month.
The so-called core-core inflation index, which excludes fresh food and energy prices and is closely watched by the BOJ as a better gauge of trend inflation, rose 4.3 percent year-on-year in July, accelerating from…
Keep on reading: Japan core inflation eases to 3.1% but price pressure remains
