Japan Inflation Firms To 2.8% Ahead Of BoJ Rate Decision

The Bank of Japan was for a long time an outlier among major central banks, sticking to an ultra-loose monetary policy (Credit: AFP)

Japanese inflation rose slightly in August, with prices up 2.8 percent year-on-year, official data showed Friday, hours before the Bank of Japan was widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.

The core Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, followed a reading of 2.7 percent in July and was in line with market expectations.