Yen could be the Trade of 2023..
It seems to be all about Bank of Japan and the depreciated Yen lately.
We are now seeing more signs ( than we saw lately ) about what might be a needed shift in BOJ's ultra loose monetary policy, which has lasted long ten years with an aim to spark up the Japanese economy and reach an inflation target of 2%.
Consumer inflation is rising at the fastest pace in the last forty years in Tokyo, which is a major indicator of nationwide trends, reaching a 3.6% on a year to year basis. Additionally, there is mounted pressure on local food manufacturers which are being hurt from rising costs and the weak yen - most of them which will increase prices this 2023.
"The average planned increase is 18%, 4 percentage points more than the full-year average for 2022.
Among respondents to the survey for 2022, 89% ended up raising prices or cutting sizes.
In the 2023 survey, 59% anticipated higher costs for materials this year. Of them, 28% predicted that costs would rise by less than 10%, while 22% expected an increase of 10% to nearly 20%."
(Source: Nikkei Asia)
As a response PM Fumio Kishida has called for a push on wage hikes in order to fight the inflationary pressure.
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