JAPAN’S consumer prices rose 3.3% year-on-year last month, with the pace of inflation accelerating from the 3.2% recorded in May, government data showed today.

The latest data – which matched market expectations – comes ahead of the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy meeting next week.

Market watchers expect the central bank will keep its super-loose monetary easing stance.

Stripping out fresh food and energy, Japan’s prices rose 4.2%, data published by the Internal Affairs Ministry showed.

Inflation in Japan has been less extreme than price hikes seen in other countries such as the United States, which have been fuelled by the war in Ukraine and supply-chain disruptions.

The US Federal Reserve and many other central banks have raised interest rates to tackle high inflation.

But the BOJ has stuck to its long-standing, ultra-loose monetary policy in an attempt to boost economic growth, causing the yen to fall against the dollar.

Today’s core consumer price index figure matched the market’s expectations of 3.3% recorded in a Bloomberg survey. – AFP, July 21, 2023.