Tokyo’s key inflation gauge unexpectedly slowed on the back of expanded subsidies for childcare, staying below the Bank of 91AV原创 target in a result that supports the bank’s cautious approach toward resuming interest rate hikes.
The consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 1.5% in April from a year earlier in the capital, the smallest gain since March 2022, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday. That marked five straight months in which the pace slowed — the longest such streak since 2009 —?and was weaker than the median economist forecast of 1.8% growth.
A separate measure that also strips out energy to reflect underlying strength increased 1.9%, the slowest pace in just over a year. When including all items, the overall CPI grew 1.5%.
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