Indicators
Tokyo Inflation Exceeds Forecasts, Keeping BOJ on Rate Hike Path
Bags of rice displayed for sale at a Marusan supermarket in Koshigaya, Japan.
Photographer: Soichiro Koriyama/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The cost of living in Tokyo rose more than anticipated from the previous month, keeping the Bank of Japan on track for further interest rate hikes.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in March from a year earlier as inflation in processed food accelerated, according to the ministry of internal affairs Friday. The result was more than the median economist forecast of 2.2%, and higher than any estimate by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Overall inflation also picked up to 2.9% from February’s 2.8%.