Japan services PPI up again in February - higher labour costs will encourage the BOJ

The data is here from earlier:

• Japan PPI services for February +1.8% (expected +1.7%, prior +1.6%)

Comments from Masato Higashi, head of the BOJ's price statistics division, at a briefing following the release:

• "For services, the pass-through of rising costs isn't as smooth as those for wholesale goods,"
• "But when you look closely, the pass-through (of higher labour costs) is gradually broadening,"

The Bank of Japan wants higher wage costs to support inflation at its 2% target. They should take a little encouragement from this data. Don't go expecting any imminent change to super-easy monetary policy imminently though.