Japan’s Inflation Slips Below BOJ’s Target First Time Since 2022

Japan’s key inflation gauge slowed more than expected to its weakest pace in nearly four years as utility subsidies cooled energy costs, with the recent surge in oil prices likely to fuel a resurgence in coming months.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food climbed 1.6% from a year earlier in February, the smallest gain since March 2022, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Tuesday. That was weaker than the median economist forecast of 1.7% after the gauge climbed 2% in the previous month.