Japan's Core Inflation Accelerates Amid Rising Import Costs

Japan's core inflation accelerated in July, rising 1.8% from the same month last year, as companies passed on increasing import costs due to a weak yen and the US-Israeli war with Iran.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will consider this data at its next policy meeting on September 17 and 18, where it is expected to raise its key interest rate to 1.25% from 1%.

Analysts predict that core inflation will continue to accelerate beyond the BOJ's 2% target in the coming months due to rising crude oil prices and a weak yen.

Taro Saito, an economist at NLI Research Institute, expects core consumer inflation to exceed 3% by March 2027.