日本央行行长上田和男周三告诉议会委员会,如果食品价格飙升引发更广泛的通货膨胀,日本央行可能会考虑收紧货币政策。他指出,某些食品价格的飙升可能会波及加工食品和餐厅成本,使企业更容易在各个行业提高价格。他说,这可能会造成持续的通胀压力,有可能导致加息。然而,他强调,如果食品通胀被证明是暂时的,央行不应该做出反应。近三年来,消费者通胀率一直高于日本央行2%的目标。尽管通胀压力持续存在,但美联储上周在评估1月份加息的影响时,将政策利率保持在0.5%。上田还对经济不确定性表示越来越谨慎,包括美国贸易政策的潜在风险,这可能会影响日本的前景。
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) may consider monetary tightening if a surge in food prices triggers broader inflation, Governor Kazuo Ueda told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday. He noted that a surge in certain food prices could spill over to processed foods and restaurant costs, making it easier for businesses to raise prices across various sectors. This, he said, could create sustained inflationary pressure, potentially warranting an interest rate hike. However, he emphasized that the central bank should not react if food inflation proves temporary. Consumer inflation has remained above the BoJ’s 2% target for nearly three years. Despite ongoing inflationary pressure, the board kept its policy rate at 0.5% last week as it assesses the impact of the January rate hike. Ueda also voiced growing caution over economic uncertainties, including potential risks from the U.S. trade policy, which could affect Japan’s outlook.