Japan August core-core CPI rises 1.9% y/y

Aug core consumer price index up 1.7% yr/yr vs forecast +1.8% Index excluding fresh food, fuel rises 1.9% yr/yr in August Data comes as BOJ concludes meeting, seen raising interest rates (Rewrites throughout with detail, background) By Leika Kihara and Yoshifumi Takemoto TOKYO, Sept 18 (Reuters) — Japan's core consumer inflation held steady near the central bank's 2% target in August, data showed on Friday, highlighting mounting price pressures that solidify the case for a near-term interest rate hike. The data came hours before the Bank of Japan concludes its two-day meeting later on Friday, when it is widely expected to raise interest rates to a 31-year high of 1.25%. The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose 1.7% in August from a year earlier, data showed, compared with a median market forecast for a 1.8% gain. It followed a 1.8% rise in July. An index that strips away the effects of both volatile fresh food and fuel, which is closely watched by the BOJ as a better gauge of demand-driven price pressures, rose 1.9% in August from a year earlier. Core inflation has stayed below the BOJ's 2% target for eight straight.