Economic and event calendar in Asia Friday, April 24, 2026. Japan inflation data
National inflation data from Japan for March 2026 is due. Tokyo’s March consumer price data, released three weeks ago, offers a useful early read on the national figures due today. Headline inflation in the capital came in at 1.4% year-on-year, easing from 1.5% in February and touching its softest level since March 2022. The core reading, stripping out fresh food, slipped to 1.7%, coming in below market expectations and sitting under the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for a second straight month.
A broader underlying measure that excludes both fresh food and energy also retreated, falling to 2.3% from 2.5% the month prior. While that reading remains above the BOJ’s target, the step down points to a loss of momentum in price pressures more broadly, in part reflecting the continued dampening effect of government support measures on energy and food costs.
Those subsidies have been doing meaningful work in recent months, helping to contain headline inflation even as a persistently weak yen continues to push up the cost of imports. The net effect has been to keep reported price growth softer than the underlying pipeline pressures might otherwise suggest.
The cooling trend is, however, widely expected to be short-lived. Renewed upward pressure on energy prices tied to the Middle East conflict, combined with ongoing yen weakness, is seen reintroducing inflation momentum in the coming months. Strengthening wage dynamics are also expected to provide a more durable underpinning for price growth over the medium term, keeping the BOJ’s rate-hike calculus firmly in play.
The Bank of Japan will be keenly eyeing this data. At next week’s policy meeting, as I posted earlier:
the board is likely to revise its inflation projections sharply higher, with rising costs for oil-related raw materials already prompting some firms to consider further price increases. Sources said to be familiar with the BOJ’s thinking suggest the board may also tweak its policy guidance language, adjusting the current pledge to raise rates “in accordance with economic and price improvements" to better signal its readiness to act flexibly in the face of war-related inflation risks.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.