By Leika Kihara
TOKYO (Reuters) -Core consumer prices in Japan’s capital rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, exceeding the central bank’s 2% target and keeping alive market expectations for a near-term interest rate hike.
The increase in the Tokyo core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food costs, compared with a median market forecast for a 2.7% rise. It followed a 2.8% gain in October.
A separate index for Tokyo that strips away both fresh food and fuel costs – closely watched by the Bank of Japan as a measure of demand-driven prices – rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier after a 2.8% increase in October.
The BOJ exited a decade-long, radical stimulus programme last year and raised short-term interest rates to 0.5% in January on the view Japan was on the cusp of sustainably hitting its 2% inflation target.
While consumer inflation has exceeded the BOJ’s 2% target for well over three years, Governor Kazuo Ueda has stressed the need to tread cautiously in further rate hikes on uncertainty over the impact of U.S. tariffs on Japan’s economy.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Nia Williams)
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