Econintersect: The objective of increasing Japan’s inflation rate to 2% keeps getting more challenging. The latest consumer prices showed a steeper decline than had been expected. The CPI declined by 0.9% year-over-year. When fresh food was excluded the decline was 0.4%. According to Bloomberg the BoJ (Bank of Japan) has forecast deflation to continue for “the time being” until the aggressive monetary easing of ¥70 trillion ($700 billion) a year recently implemented by the central bank in collaboration with the newly elected Shinzo Abe government.
Since the beginning of 2009 Japan has had year-over-year CPI deflation 45 of the 51 months.
Sources:
- BOJ Keeps Monetary-Expansion Plan as Deflation Deepens: Economy (Toru Fujioka and Andy Sharp, Bloomberg, 26 April 2013)
- Japanese Inflation Expectations, Revisited (Benjamin R. Mandel and Geoffrey Barnes, GEI News, 22 April 2013)
- Japan: Massive Monetary Easing Announced (GEI News, 04 April 2013)
- Japan Inflation Rate (Trading Economics, 26 April 2013)