According to a report by Jinshi Data, Japan's core inflation rate rose to 3.7% in May, exceeding the market expectation of 3.6% and the previous value of 3.5%, reaching the highest level since January 2023. This figure is higher than the 3.6% expected by economists surveyed by Reuters and is also an increase from April's 3.5%.
Japan's overall inflation rate in May was 3.5%, down from 3.6% in April. This marks the 38th consecutive month that the inflation rate has exceeded the Bank of Japan's 2% target. The 'core-core' inflation rate, closely watched by the Bank of Japan, rose from 3% last month to 3.3%.
Before the release of the latest inflation data, the Bank of Japan decided to maintain the benchmark interest rate at 0.5% during its monetary policy meeting earlier this week. However, the bank stated in its announcement that the transmission of wage increases to sales prices is still ongoing, which supports core inflation.