1  Chart 1 Low and stable inflation (y-o-y rates, in %)  Chart 2 Anchored one-year ahead inflation expectations (y-o-y rates, in %)  16  18  14  16  12  July 2018.
This seems to indicate that with intensifying competition among firms due partly to globalization and deregulation, many firms are restraining increases in prices through improvements in productivity and various cost reduction measures. In this situation, the year-on-year rate of change in the consumer price index (CPI, excluding fresh food) has remained at around 0 percent.