The data underscores the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) view that rising service prices will start to replace cost-push inflation as a key driver of price gains, and help achieve its 2% inflation target on a sustainable basis.
The year-on-year rise in the services producer price index, which measures what companies charge each other for services, was unchanged from October and higher than a 2.0% gain in September, BOJ data showed.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Monday the likelihood of achieving the central bank’s 2% inflation target was “gradually rising”, and that next year’s wage outlook was key to the timing of an exit from ultra-loose monetary policy.
He has repeatedly stressed the need for wages to keep rising, heightening market attention to developments in service prices, which reflect the wage pressures companies face.
Source: Economy - investing.com
