Tokyo’s inflation outpaced forecasts to hit its fastest clip since 1982 on Friday, an acceleration that suggests nationwide price growth will also quicken in November after months of yen weakness and elevated energy costs.
Consumer prices, excluding fresh food, rose 3.6% from a year earlier in the capital in November, with the faster pace driven by further gains in processed food prices, according to data released by the internal affairs ministry on Friday. The reading was the highest since April 1982 and stronger than a 3.5% forecast by analysts.
The continued acceleration in core inflation challenges Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda’s view that the current cost-push inflation is only temporary and that continued stimulus is required to ensure price growth becomes sustainable.