Japan’s Inflation Speeds Up, Keeping BOJ Rate Hike in Play
- Phasing out of utilities subsidies pushes up energy prices
- Inflation stays above BOJ’s 2% target for 27 straight months
Workers’ base salaries jumped the most since 1993 in a bright sign for the prospects of achieving a virtuous cycle tying wage growth to demand-led price gains.
Photographer: Kentaro Takahashi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Japan’s inflation accelerated for a second month in June, leaving the door open for central bank officials to consider raising interest rates when they gather to set policy at the end of the month.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food gained 2.6% from a year ago, quickening from 2.5% in May on slightly higher energy costs, the ministry of internal affairs reported Friday. The reading came in a tad weaker than economists’ consensus for a 2.7% increase, but extended the run of inflation at or above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target to a 27th month.