Overview
- Tokyo's core CPI rose 2.8% year over year in October, beating a 2.6% forecast and accelerating from 2.5% in September.
- A separate Tokyo index that excludes fresh food and fuel also climbed to 2.8%, a gauge the BOJ watches for domestic demand pressure.
- Food costs led the increase, highlighted by a 38.4% surge in rice and the end of water-fee subsidies, while services inflation held at 1.6%.
- The Bank of Japan left its policy rate at 0.5% at its latest meeting, with two board members dissenting over signs of broader price pressures.
- Markets maintained expectations for a near-term rate hike as factory output rose 2.2% in September and unemployment stayed at 2.6%, even as officials emphasize the need for wage-driven inflation.