Japan inflation may perk up but lacks momentum, says BOJ’s Kataoka

TOKYO – Japan’s consumer inflation may briefly exceed 1.5% but likely will not gain momentum to sustainably head toward the central bank’s 2% target, Bank of Japan board member Goushi Kataoka said on Thursday.

In a speech, Kataoka also said risks to the economic outlook were skewed to the downside, because of the fallout from the crisis in Ukraine and the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)