Japan's inflation rate fell for the first time in four months, mainly reflecting the impact of government subsidies. A few hours after the consumer price data is released, the Bank of Japan will announce the interest rate decision. The Japanese government announced on Friday that CPI excluding fresh food rose 1.7% year on year in August, down from 1.8% in July. Economists had expected a flat increase. As an inflation indicator that the Bank of Japan is closely watching, the CPI excluding fresh food and energy rose 1.9% year over year. The overall CPI also rose 1.9%. Economists surveyed by the media agree that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 1.25% on Friday. This will be the second time in three months that the central bank has raised interest rates, and the pace of austerity is the fastest since 1990.

Japan's inflation rate fell for the first time in four months, mainly reflecting the impact of government subsidies. A few hours after the consumer price data is released, the Bank of Japan will announce the interest rate decision. The Japanese government announced on Friday that CPI excluding fresh food rose 1.7% year on year in August, down from 1.8% in July. Economists had expected a flat increase. As an inflation indicator that the Bank of Japan is closely watching, the CPI excluding fresh food and energy rose 1.9% year over year. The overall CPI also rose 1.9%. Economists surveyed by the media agree that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 1.25% on Friday. This will be the second time in three months that the central bank has raised interest rates, and the pace of austerity is the fastest since 1990.