Japan’s January Consumer Inflation Slows, Trade Deficit Biggest in 8 Years: Poll

Japan’s January Consumer Inflation Slows, Trade Deficit Biggest in 8 Years: Poll
Shoppers wearing protective face masks, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease, are seen at a supermarket in Tokyo, Japan, on March 27, 2020. Issei Kato/Global Business Week Ahead
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TOKYO—Japan’s core consumer inflation likely slowed in January from the previous month, a Reuters poll showed, reinforcing expectations the country’s central bank will lag well behind other economies in raising interest rates.

Separate data is also expected to show Japan likely ran the biggest trade deficit in eight years in January as persistent rises in fuel and raw material costs swelled imports, according to economists polled by Reuters.