Japan's Inflation Pressure Unlikely to Ease, Economist Says

Japan's inflation pressure is unlikely to ease, according to Abhijit Surya, Senior Economist for Asia-Pacific at Capital Economics. According to Jin10, recent data showed that Japan's consumer prices, excluding fresh food, rose by 1.4% year-on-year in April, down from a 1.8% increase in March. However, Surya noted that the preliminary manufacturing PMI data released on Thursday indicates that output prices for Japanese companies are rising rapidly, suggesting a strong rebound in core goods inflation in the coming months. Additionally, Surya stated, 'Given the strong wage growth, we believe the recent weakness in service sector inflation is unlikely to persist.' 'We still expect the Bank of Japan to further tighten policy in the coming months,' he added.