Inflation a worry for most economies, but not Japan

The Federal Reserve and most other central banks are shifting into inflation-fighting mode as pandemic recoveries power ahead despite renewed outbreaks of coronavirus

Surging prices are haunting consumers and confounding economic planners in the U.S. and other countries, but not in Japan, where sparking inflation has proven an elusive goal.

While the Federal Reserve and most other central banks are shifting into inflation-fighting mode, the Bank of Japan on Friday said it would scale back corporate bond purchases to pre-pandemic levels. But it will continue pumping tens of billions of dollars into the economy in hopes of eventually attaining its elusive 2% inflation target and getting the economy to grow faster.

With outbreaks of the omicron variant of coronavirus looming in many parts of the world, “high uncertainties" persist, it said.

The chances of hitting that target anytime soon remain “slim," Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics said in a report. “The upshot is that the Bank of Japan will remain among the few central banks that won't tighten policy for the foreseeable future."