This is perhaps because firms have refrained from revising prices upward in response to the lackluster private consumption mentioned earlier, and because the yen's appreciation during last year affected the prices of consumer durable goods and other items.
As a result, recent price developments have been somewhat sluggish, but we believe that the momentum toward achieving the price stability target of 2 percent has been maintained and the year-on-year rate of change in the CPI excluding fresh food is likely to increase toward 2  6  percent. Let me mention three channels for higher inflation going forward.