Japan’s key inflation gauge eased to the slowest pace in two years, posing a communication challenge for a central bank that will likely stay determined to raise the benchmark interest rate when the timing is right. The yen weakened after the data.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2% from a year earlier in January, the smallest gain since January 2024, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Friday. That matched the median economist forecast and came after the gauge climbed 2.4% in the previous month.