TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s core consumer inflation probably accelerated in October for the second straight month, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, as smaller energy subsidies compared with a year earlier pushed up utility costs, while food price gains moderated.
The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which includes energy items but excludes fresh food prices, was expected to have risen 3.0% in October from a year earlier, a poll of 18 economists showed. That would follow a 2.9% increase in September, marking the first time in three months that core CPI growth returned to the 3% range.
Core inflation has exceeded the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for more than three years, keeping market expectations alive for a near-term interest rate hike.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday that the central bank was aiming for moderate inflation accompanied by wage rises and economic improvement.
Analysts said the expected rise in the October consumer inflation reflected a comparison with last year’s heavy utility subsidies, even as food inflation cooled.
“Energy contributed to pushing up inflation because last year’s summer subsidies were larger, while food price increases slowed as rice price hikes subsided,” said analysts at Mizuho Research & Technologies.
The internal affairs ministry will announce CPI data at 8:30 a.m. on November 21 (2330 GMT on November 20).
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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