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Investing.com-- Consumer price index inflation in Tokyo cooled as expected in August, although underlying inflation remained sticky, keeping expectations of more interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan in play.
Tokyo core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, fell to 2.5% year-on-year in August, government data showed on Friday. The print was in line with expectations and retreated from the 2.9% seen in the prior month.
A core reading that excludes both fresh food and energy prices eased slightly to 3.0% in August from 3.1% in the prior month. The reading is closely watched by the Bank of Japan as a gauge of underlying inflation, and remained well above the BOJ’s 2% annual target.
Headline Tokyo CPI eased to 2.6% from 2.9% in the previous month.
Tokyo inflation data usually acts as a bellwether for nationwide inflation, with Friday’s data indicating that while headline inflation was cooling, underlying inflation remained underpinned by high food costs.
Food price inflation, excluding fresh food, was 7.4% in August, amid rising rice prices and more expensive grain imports. This trend kept underlying inflation largely underpinned and well above the BOJ’s annual target.
The central bank is expected to hike interest rates at least once more this year as it moves to curb years of sticky inflation. The BOJ had kicked off a historical tightening cycle in early-2024, ending nearly a decade of ultra-loose policy as it sought to combat rising inflation.
But uncertainty over the Japanese economy, especially as it grapples with U.S. trade tariffs, has kept the BOJ largely non-commital towards more rate hikes.