The Bank of Japan on Monday upgraded its core consumer price index forecast for fiscal 2005 and 2006, paving the way for the central bank to end its ultraloose monetary policy aimed for more than four years at reinvigorating the economy.
The biannual Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices report says the average projection figure that the nine BOJ Policy Board members made for the core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh-food prices, is up 0.1 percent for fiscal 2005 from the previous year and up 0.5 percent on year for fiscal 2006.
The two figures have been revised upward from the previous report in April, which included a 0.1 percent fall for fiscal 2005 and a 0.3 percent rise for fiscal 2006.