Japan's inflation cools as BOJ waits for wage gains to kick in

Japan's inflation cooled for a second month while staying above the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) price target as the yen's recent depreciation fuels concerns that cost-push inflationary pressures may be here to stay.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.2 per cent in April from a year ago, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on May 24. The reading matched analysts' estimates. The gauge stayed at or above the BOJ's 2 per cent target for a 25th month.

The biggest factor weighing on the index was a deceleration in gains for processed food prices.

They slowed to 3.5 per cent partly due to base effects, after those prices jumped a year earlier in a sign businesses were becoming more willing to pass on rising costs to consumers.

Lodging costs also advanced at a smaller pace, exerting a drag on the overall gauge.

A deeper measure of inflation that strips out fresh food and energy prices cooled to 2.4 per cent, also in line with the consensus estimate.

The results alone are not likely to derail the BOJ from pursuing opportunities to further roll back its easy policy settings. BOJ watchers have increasingly flagged the risk of an early rate hike as the yen stays near a 34-year low even after the government was suspected of conducting market intervention to support the currency on two occasions.