— See Separate Table For Details Of Individual Economist Forecasts
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s core consumer price index for December is
expected to show a 0.1% fall from a year earlier, posting the third
consecutive monthly y/y fall, after -0.2% in November and -0.1% in
October, according to the median forecast of economists polled by Market
News International.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will release
the CPI data at 0830 JST on Friday, Jan. 27 (2330 GMT Thursday).
Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank, said,
“Prices of goods such as home electric appliances have continued
falling, and the recent strong yen has played a major role in lowering
prices.”
The y/y fall in the December core CPI is expected to have shrunk
from a fall in November, as core central Tokyo CPI, which is seen as a
leading indicator of national CPI, fell only 0.3% on year in December,
with the pace of decline slowing from -0.5% in November.
Looking ahead, Yoshiki Shinke, senior economist at Dai-Ichi Life
Research Institute, forecast y/y falls in core CPI would expand from
March onward, adding that it is uncertain when CPI would show y/y rises
again.
Tokyo core CPI for January, which will be released with December
national price data, is forecast to show a 0.3% drop on year, posting
falls for 33 months in a row, after -0.3% in December and -0.5% in
November.
skodama@marketnews.com
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