More rain expected Friday ahead of holiday weekend: South Florida's Memorial Day forecast

The core inflation figure was higher than expectations of Headline inflation climbed from a year ago Japan s core inflation accelerated to in April cabinet statistics evidenced Friday bolstered in part by surging rice prices as the central bank considers pausing its rate hike posture to assess the impact of U S tariffs The core inflation figure which strips out prices for fresh food was higher than expectations of according to economists polled by Reuters rising from in the previous month and marking the highest level since January Headline inflation climbed from a year ago steady from the prior month and staying above the Bank of Japan s target for more than three years Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has signaled his stance on intending to raise rates given price trends while also citing the need to monitor closely the effects of U S tariffs Rice prices in Japan have doubled over the year The average price in supermarkets across the country reportedly continued to hit record highs with prices for a -kilogram bag of rice hiking by yen from the previous week to yen as of May The country s prime minister Shigeru Ishiba has reportedly pledged to lower rice prices to below yen per -kilogram bag staking his job on the line The core inflation is expected to ease in the coming months due to lower crude oil prices and the yen s appreciation explained Masato Koike economist at Sompo Institute Plus As seen during Trump s first administration an oversupply of food stemming from the U S tariffs could lead to lower food prices revealed Koike adding that the resumption of authorities subsidies for electricity and gas bills in the summer will also create downward pressure on inflation The Japanese yen strengthened to against the U S dollar following the release while the benchmark Nikkei rose modestly Marcel Thieliant head of Asia-Pacific at Capital Economics anticipates the persistent strength in inflation will convince the BOJ to hike interest rates again in October Japan now faces a baseline tariff that U S President Donald Trump imposed on greater part contract partners alongside a reciprocal tariff which is set to come into effect in July unless the country manages to strike a deal with the U S The country is also one of the hardest hit by Trump s levy on auto steel and aluminum products The bilateral negotiation however appears to be in a standoff Japanese senior representatives have requested that Washington remove all tariffs on Tokyo emphasizing that the country will not rush into any deal that puts the country s interests at jeopardy