© Reuters. Japanese national flag is hoisted atop the headquarters of Bank of Japan in Tokyo, Japan September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
By Leika Kihara
TOKYO (Reuters) – A key measure of Japan’s trend inflation accelerated to 2.2% in October, data showed on Tuesday, marking a fresh record high in a sign of broadening price pressure that heightens the case for the central bank to dial back its massive monetary stimulus.
The data adds to recent growing signs that prospects of sustained wage increases are prodding firms to hike prices for their services, a trend the central bank sees as a prerequisite for ending ultra-low interest rates.
The 2.2% year-on-year increase in the weighted median inflation rate, which is closely watched as an indicator on whether price rises are broadening, followed a 2.0% gain in September. It was the fastest rise since comparable data became available in 2001, Bank of Japan (BOJ) data showed.
The data will be among the factors the BOJ will scrutinise at its next policy-setting meeting on Dec. 18-19.
The BOJ remains a global dovish outlier, having maintained ultra-loose policy even as major central banks elsewhere raised interest…
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