Japan’s consumer prices advanced at a faster clip in June in another indication of lingering stickiness in inflation ahead of next week’s Bank of Japan meeting, although economists forecast a slowdown in coming months.
Prices excluding those for fresh food gained 3.3% from a year ago, accelerating a tad from the rise in May as energy prices were less of a drag on inflation, the internal affairs ministry reported Friday. A deeper measure of the inflation trend that also excludes energy decelerated to 4.2% after reaching the highest in more than 40 years in the previous month. Both figures matched consensus.
The data may complicate BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda’s position as he continues to back the case for persistent monetary stimulus. The central bank is expected to hold its main policy settings steady when board members meet July 27-28, although a minority of analysts see the BOJ tweaking its yield curve control program.
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