Economic calendar in Asia Friday, January 31, 2025 – inflation data from Japan (Tokyo)

The first item lists, NZ consumer sentiment, has come in at 96.0 in January, a big drop from December.

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Most focus for the session is on Tokyo area CPI data.

Tokyo area inflation data is the focus for the session – this might give us a heads up what the Bank of Japan is thinking about a rate rise at the December 18-19 meeting.

• National-level CPI data for this month will follow in about three weeks, it takes longer to gather and collate the national data.
• Tokyo CPI is a sub-index of the national CPI
• It measures the change in prices of goods and services in the Tokyo metropolitan area
• Its considered a leading indicator of national CPI trends because Tokyo is the largest city in Japan and is a major economic hub
• Historically, Tokyo CPI data has been just slightly higher than national Japan CPI data. The cost of living in Tokyo is a touch higher than in most other parts of Japan. Higher rents, for example

There is some conjecture of a May Bank of Japan rate hike in the works:

• BoJ Rate Hike May Move Closer: Analysis & Outlook

Firming inflation data will add to this. Keep an eye on the data today as an input.

• This snapshot from the ForexLive economic data calendar, access it here.
• The times in the left-most column are GMT.
• The numbers in the right-most column are the ‘prior’ (previous month/quarter as the case may be) result. The number in the column next to that, where there is a number, is the consensus median expected.
• I’ve noted data for New Zealand and Australia with text as the similarity of the little flags can sometimes be confusing.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.