Inflation & Prices

Japan Inflation Hits 4% to Keep BOJ Pivot Speculation Smoldering

  • Prices gain the most since 1981 led by energy, processed food
  • BOJ still sees inflation cooling below 2% in next two years

A shopper inside a department store in Tokyo.

Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg
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Japan’s inflation hit 4% for the first time in more than four decades, an outcome likely to keep speculation of a monetary policy change smoldering as prices grow at twice the pace targeted by the Bank of Japan.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 4% in December from a year ago, the internal affairs ministry reported Friday.