If that turns out to be the case, and if the rate of nominal wage increases consequently falls below the rate of increase in the CPI excluding the effects of the consumption tax hike, consumers might increasingly expect that decreases in real wages will be protracted. Developments in wages therefore require careful monitoring.
C.  Outlook for prices  The Bank’s outlook and the private sector’s expectations for prices for fiscal 2013 have been converging, but there is still a wide gap between them for fiscal 2014 and 2015.