BOJ unveils price index that buoys governor's position

Tokyo

THE Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Friday produced a new price index which appeared to support the claim by its embattled governor that the central bank's anti-deflation policies were gaining traction after making allowance for plunging oil and other energy prices.

The new indicator showed that Japanese consumer prices had risen by 1.1 per cent in the year to January, after stripping out energy and fresh food costs; this increase was, however, smaller than the 1.3 per cent rise registered the previous month.