By Leika Kihara

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s core inflation hit 3.0% in February and an index stripping away the effect of fuel rose on the fastest pace in nearly a yr, an indication of broadening price pressure that reinforces market expectations of further rate of interest hikes.

The info got here within the wake of Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda’s warning, made after its decision to maintain rates of interest regular on Wednesday, that rising food costs and stronger-than-expected wage growth could push up underlying inflation.

The rise within the core consumer price index (CPI), which strips away the effect of volatile fresh food costs, compared with a median market forecast of a 2.9% gain. That kept core inflation above the BOJ’s 2% goal for the thirty fifth straight month.

It slowed from the previous month’s 3.2% rise due largely to the resumption of subsidies to curb fuel costs, government data showed on Friday.

A separate index that excludes the consequences of each fresh food and fuel costs, closely watched by the BOJ as a broader price trend indicator, rose 2.6% in February from a yr earlier after climbing 2.5% in January. It was the fastest year-on-year increase since March 2024, when it rose 2.9%.

“The strength in underlying inflation in February suggests that the Bank of Japan could hike rates at its next meeting in May but we still expect that uncertainty over the impact of U.S. tariffs will delay a move to July,” said Marcel Thieliant, head of Asia-Pacific at Capital Economics.

“Either way, the continued strength in inflation supports our view the Bank will tighten policy more aggressively than most anticipate,” he said.

Households continued to face rising living costs with the value of vegetables up 28% year-on-year, that of rice rising 81.4% and electricity bills up 9%, the information showed.

Services inflation slowed to 1.3% in February from 1.4% in January, the information showed, suggesting that corporations were passing on rising labour costs at a gradual pace.

The CPI data might be amongst aspects the central bank will scrutinise in compiling fresh quarterly growth and price forecasts due at the subsequent policy meeting on April 30-May 1.

The BOJ ended a decade-long, massive stimulus last yr and raised rates of interest to 0.5% in January on the view Japan was on the cusp of durably hitting its inflation goal.

BOJ policymakers have signalled their readiness to maintain raising rates of interest in the event that they grow to be convinced that Japan will see inflation sustained around 2% backed by solid wage gains.

Over two-thirds of economists polled by Reuters expect the BOJ to hike rates to 0.75% within the third quarter, almost certainly in July.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Shri Navaratnam)