JEQ - Japan's core inflation rate accelerates in June but stays above BOJ's target

2023-07-21 00:39:55 ET

• Japan's core consumer inflation stayed well above the central bank's 2% target for the fifteenth consecutive month, rose by 3.3% in June 2023 from a year ago, accelerating slightly from a 3.2% gain in May as widely expected.

• On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.2% after being flat in May.

• The core inflation print has challenged the Bank of Japan’s commitment to ultra-easy monetary policy.

• The BOJ maintained its policy of ultra-low interest rates and made no adjustments to its yield curve control at the June meeting.

• Food prices in Japan rose by 8.4% from a year earlier in June 2023, after an 8.6% gain in the prior month which was the steepest increase since September 1976. This was the 22nd straight month of food inflation due to a rapid decline in the yen.

• The annual inflation rate in Japan edged up to 3.3% in June 2023 from 3.2% in May but less than market forecasts of 3.5%.

• BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda recently stated that there was still some distance to sustainably and stably achieve the central bank’s 2% inflation target, indicating no change to Japan’s ultra-loose monetary settings for the time being.

• ETFs: ( JEQ ), ( EWJ ), ( DXJ ), ( FXY ).

• More on Japan's economy:

• Japan logs its first trade surplus in almost two years in June

• Japan Services PMI revised downward to 54.0 in June, but stays in expansion territory

• Bank Of Japan Keeps Policy Settings Unchanged - For Now

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