According to BoJ’s Opinion Survey, 83.4% of public expects price level to go up over the next five years. That’s up from 82.3% in March and was the highest since June 2016. Among them, 28.7% expects price level to go up significantly, up from 26.9%. 54.7% expects price to go up slightly, down from 54.7%.
On price levels one year from now, 80.5% expects prices to go up. 11.7% expects prices to go up significantly, up from 11.3%. 68.8% expects prices to go up slightly, up fro 67.4%.
Separately, BoJ Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya told a Reuters Newsmaker event today that the baseline scenario is that “economy will continue to expand moderately and gradually push up inflation to our target”.
He added that “The output gap is still positive. More companies are raising prices. If this trend continues, people’s perception of future price moves will change. At present, the momentum (for inflation to hit 2%) is sustained.”
Though, he also warned of various downside risks. And he emphasized “if such risks hurt the economy’s momentum to achieve our price target, we won’t hesitate to consider easing more.”
