Jan 19 (Japan Times) - Consumer prices rose a sluggish 0.9 percent last year, according to government data published Friday, as the world’s third-largest economy continues its yearslong battle to stoke weak inflation.
The annual figure is far below the central bank’s inflation target of 2 percent and comes as the Bank of Japan is reportedly preparing to revise its inflation forecast downward next week.
The BOJ will lower its inflation forecast for the year to March 2020 to about 1 percent from the current estimate of 1.4 percent in its quarterly report, reflecting falls in crude oil prices, local media have reported.
This would be the latest in a string of downward revisions. In October, the central bank also lowered its inflation forecasts, in the latest sign it had failed to make headway toward its 2 percent target despite years of massive monetary easing.
Japan has battled sluggish inflation for many years and the central bank’s ultraloose monetary policy appears to have had limited impact.
