MNI BRIEF: Household 5-Yr Inflation Stays At 5% - BOJ

Bank of Japan's closely-watched five-year household median inflation forecast for Q4 2023 stood unchanged at 5%, despite the number of households that expect price rises falling to 76.5% from 80.7%, the BOJ's quarterly consumer survey released Wednesday showed.

The one-year household median inflation view stood at 8%, down from 10% in Q3, the first drop since September 2020, indicating inflation expectations may have peaked. The survey showed the number of households who saw their circumstances worsen fell to 56.2% from 56.8% in Q3, but stayed at a high level.

The diffusion index to gauge households' sentiment on current economic conditions fell 7.1 points to -49.6 in December for the second straight drop, judging from income levels and media reports, the survey showed.