BOJ Debated Chance of Inflation Pick-Up Towards 2 Percent as Price Hikes Broaden

Read MoreTOKYO—Some Bank of Japan policymakers saw consumer inflation briefly accelerating towards their 2 percent target as price pressures build up on changing corporate price-setting behavior, a summary of opinions at the bank’s January meeting showed on Wednesday. Many board members, however, stressed the need to maintain an ultra-loose monetary policy to support a fragile economy facing fresh risks from a spike in Omicron coronavirus cases, the summary showed. “There’s a chance year-on-year growth in consumer inflation may briefly approach 2%. If that happens, what’s important is to look at facts behind the rise and whether they’re sustainable,” one of the BOJ’s nine board members was quoted as saying. “Consumer inflation may temporarily reach levels of around 1.5% in the first half of 2022. Whether that momentum is sustained enough for inflation to stably approach the BOJ’s 2% target would depend on wage and inflation expectations—or in sum the strength of …