Economist: Japan may raise inflation expectations, but this does not mean accelerating the pace of interest rate hikes

Golden Finance reports that on April 27th, SMBC Nikko Securities economists stated that the Bank of Japan may raise inflation expectations in the quarterly report released on Tuesday, but this move does not necessarily mean accelerating the pace of interest rate hikes. Analysts said, “Since this round of inflation is mainly driven by costs, the Bank of Japan is unlikely to see it as a sign of potential inflation change.” They added, “This is unlikely to prompt the central bank to accelerate the current interest rate hike pace, which is expected to be about once every six months.” In the January report, the Bank of Japan projected that, for the fiscal year ending March 2027, consumer inflation excluding fresh food would rise by 1.9%.(Jin10)