- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.41% | 24.6 | $ | |
SCS | -0.23% | 12.94 | $ | |
BCC | 1.74% | 141.36 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
BTI | -0.21% | 35.215 | $ | |
NGG | -1.54% | 65.49 | $ | |
RIO | -0.17% | 69.585 | $ | |
RELX | -0.51% | 46.055 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ |
Japan inflation hits four-decade high in October
Japanese inflation hit a four-decade high last month, government data showed Friday, fuelled by high energy costs and a weak yen and ramping up pressure on the central bank to move away from its ultra-loose monetary policies.
Core consumer prices excluding volatile fresh food rose 3.6 percent on-year in October, marginally higher than analyst expectations.
The reading marked the fastest pace since 1982, although it remains below the sky-high levels that have pummelled the United States and other countries.
In reaction to the data, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters the government "must protect people's livelihoods from these price rises".
"Price increases have continued for items closely related to daily life such as utilities and food, due to rising raw material prices and the weak yen," he said.
The government said last month it would spend $260 billion on an economic stimulus package that includes support for energy bills, which have spiked since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
"Policies targeting energy and food, which are the main causes of high prices" are included in the relief measures, Matsuno said as he vowed to "pass the extra budget as soon as possible".
Darren Tay, Japan Economist at Capital Economics, told AFP that the impact of inflation on the average consumer was "very real".
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has responded with an "aggressive" stimulus package because "he knows that his electorate is not too happy with rising prices", Tay added.
- Economy 'on shaky footing' -
When energy prices were not taken into account, October's inflation was a more moderate 2.5 percent, but still higher than in September.
The headline core consumer price index (CPI) has now risen for 14 straight months -- putting pressure on the Bank of Japan to tweak its longstanding monetary easing policies.
The US Federal Reserve and other central banks have sharply hiked interest rates this year to tackle inflation.
But Japan, which since the 1990s has swung between periods of sluggish inflation and deflation, has gone against the grain and continues to keep interest rates at ultra-low levels as it tries to kickstart the torpid economy.
Although inflation is now higher than the two-percent targeted by the Bank of Japan for the past decade, it sees the recent price rises as temporary and says there is no reason to change course.
The starkly different approaches taken by the BoJ and the Fed have driven down the value of the yen against the dollar this year from levels of around 115 yen per dollar in March to 140 on Friday, having hit a 32-year low of 151 yen last month.
But while the bank keeps a close watch on inflation, Tay added: "I still don't think it's enough for them to change their policy at this point."
One reason is that Japan's latest growth data, released on Tuesday, showed a surprise contraction of the world's third-largest economy in the July-September quarter.
"That shows the bank very clearly that the economy is actually on much shakier footing than they might otherwise have expected," Tay said.
"The other thing is the global economy is probably going to enter a recession next year, in the first half," he added.
"We're basically looking at very weak economic conditions overall, and the Bank of Japan will not risk jeopardising the economy even further by tightening monetary policy at this point."
X.Wong--CPN