Japan’s annual inflation jumps to 3.2% in March

Japan’s headline inflation rate was 3.6% year-on-year in March, remaining above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the third consecutive year, though it eased slightly from 3.7% in February. This was down from 3.7% in February.

Core inflation, which excludes fresh food and energy prices and is closely monitored by the Bank of Japan, accelerated to 2.9% from 2.6% the previous month.

Core inflation, which excludes fresh food prices, also came in at 3.2%, in line with Reuters expectations. This also compared to a 3% increase in February.

The data release comes as Japan is engaged in trade talks with the United States, with US President Donald Trump tweeting that significant progress has been made. Asia’s second-largest economy was hit by a 25% tariff on auto imports effective April 3, and similar tariffs on steel and aluminum took effect on March 12.