Japan headline February CPI 3.7% (3.5% expected) | Forexlive

Japan inflation data, February 2025

Headline inflation comes in at 3.7%, down from a two year high in January:

• expected 3.5%, prior 4.6%

Core, that is excluding food, comes in at 3.0%

• expected 2.9%, prior 3.2%

Core-core (this is excluding food and energy) comes in at 2.6%

• expected 2.6%, prior 2.5%

Here is what someone said after the Jauary inflation data from Japan back on February 21:

Once again come the solid inflation readings from Japan.

This will be an input into the next, and subsequent, Bank of Japan policy decisions. If the target is 2% and headline inflation is 4% and core is 3.2% and core-core is 2.5% … is it just me or what wouldn’t a rate hike be attractive?

Who said this? Well, OK, it was me. And what else can I say but the same again, apart from an adjustment to the digits:

• headline inflation 3.5% and core is 3.0% and core-core is 2.6%

The Bank of Japan met earlier this week and left policy unchanged. The reasoning centred on global uncertainty stemming from tariffs and trade. The Bank next meet on April 30 and May 1. by then we’ll have had the March Japan CPI data and I suspect I’ll be repeating my thought on why not hike rates again. I can’t see global uncertainty dissipating much, but will the BoJ look at above-target inflation and hike in May>

We’ll see.