While economists were substantially biased in their expectations in this period, underpredicting y/y inflation at the 1 year horizon, the root mean squared error of economists' forecasts was lower than that of firms, and about the same as consumers.

The Black Monday talked about over the weekend has materialized. Japanese equity indices more than 12% today.

Annual inflation continued to trend down in July helped by supportive base effects. The drop came despite revisions to the special consumption tax and administrative price adjustments as well as upward pressure on food prices.

The analysis aims to provide readers with insights into the current market trends and how to capitalize on them effectively.