"Japan's Core Inflation Eases, Adding Pressure on BOJ to Maintain Status Quo"

Japan's core consumer prices slowed in July, with the core consumer price index rising 3.1% year-on-year, matching forecasts. The core-core inflation index, which excludes fresh food and energy prices, rose 4.3% year-on-year, indicating an acceleration in service-led inflation. Analysts believe that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will maintain its easy monetary policy as wage pressures have not built up enough to warrant a change. The BOJ aims to stoke demand-side inflation, but there are doubts about whether services inflation can pick up. Food costs were a major contributor to overall inflation due to elevated prices of raw materials.