MNI BRIEF: Price Rises Hold Household 5-Yr Inflation At 5%

Japan's five-year household median inflation forecast stood unchanged at 5%, while the number of households expecting prices to rise rose to 80.7% from 79%, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly consumer survey on Friday.

The one-year household median inflation view stood at 10%, also unchanged from three months ago, but the number of households expecting prices to rise increased to 86.8% from 86.3% in June. BOJ officials focused on inflation expectations amid corporate price hikes will look favorably on the results.

However, the survey also showed the number of households experiencing deteriorating circumstances rose over Q3 to 57.4% from 56.8% in June, illustrating the impact of price rises on households. When asked why their household circumstances had worsened, respondents pointed to price rises primarily, followed by the decline of salary and business income.

The household sentiment diffusion index fell 6.6 points to -42.5 in September, the first fall in three quarters, with more people noting worse sentiment due to income levels and media reports, the survey showed. The consumer sentiment outlook index projecting conditions a year ahead also fell for the first drop in three quarters, down 14.3 points to -30.1 in September from -15.8 in June.