Japanese firms expect CPI to rise 0.9% a year from now

Japanese companies expect inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) to average 0.9 percent over the next year, a Bank of Japan (BOJ) survey released on Monday showed.

Three months ago, companies expected prices to rise 0.8 percent over the next year.

While the slight uptick in inflation expectations may be encouraging, the firms still expect the BOJ to miss its 2 percent inflation target.

Moreover, firms polled by the BOJ, as part of its detailed "Tankan" survey for December, also expect consumer prices to rise an annual 1.1 percent three years from now and an annual 1.2 percent five years from now, according to Reuters.