Japan’s core CPI, which excludes fresh food, eased from 2.8% yoy to 2.4% yoy in September, slightly above expectations of 2.3% yoy. Despite the slowdown, core inflation has remained above BoJ’s 2% target for well over two years.
The deceleration in price gains is largely attributed to government utility subsidies, which have helped lower household expenses. Headline CPI fell from 3.0% yoy to 2.5%, with gas prices subtracting 0.55 percentage points from the overall figure. This indicates that without government intervention, inflation would have remained higher.
Meanwhile, CPI measure that excludes both food and energy costs—often referred to as core-core CPI—increased from 2.0% yoy to 2.1% yoy, suggesting underlying inflation remains firm. However, service prices saw a slight decrease in momentum, slowing from 1.4% yoy to 1.3% yoy.
