Japan Inflation Highlights BOJ’s Challenge

Japan’s inflation slowed in June, highlighting the task Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda faces in reaching the bank’s target.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.3 percent from a year earlier after a 3.4 percent gain in May, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo. The increase matched the projection in a Bloomberg News survey of 32 economists.

Kuroda has said inflation will ease in coming months before accelerating later this year toward the BOJ’s 2 percent goal, which strips out the effects of a sales-tax increase in April. As the impact of the yen’s slide on prices fades, some economists say the central bank may add stimulus should price gains drop below 1 percent — a level Kuroda forecast they wouldn’t break.

Bloomberg

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