TOKYO, March 24 (Reuters) – Bank of Japan (BoJ) officials agreed that inflation could beat their expectations if companies pass on higher costs faster than expected, minutes of their meeting show. January published Thursday.
Many BoJ board members said they are closely monitoring wage developments, which are an important component of service costs and determine the extent to which households will accept price increases.
At its January meeting, the BoJ raised its forecast for inflation for the fiscal year beginning next April and noted the heightened risk that the recent price rise will spread beyond commodities, highlighting expresses its conviction that the country is in the process of emerging from deflation for the long term. (Report Leika Kihara; French version Camille Raynaud)