Japan Real Wages Rise 1.5% in August, Eighth Straight Gain, Supporting BOJ Rate Hike Path

Japan's real wages rose 1.5% in August from a year earlier, marking an eighth consecutive month of gains, government data showed on Wednesday, supporting the case for the Bank of Japan to keep raising interest rates after last month's benchmark hike. The increase was slower than July's revised 2.0% gain. Average nominal wages, or total cash earnings, rose 3.8% to 311,364 yen ($1,969.66), down from a revised 4.3% increase in July. Base salaries also rose 3.8%, unchanged from July's revised figure, while overtime pay growth accelerated to 5.2% from 4.5%. Special payments, mostly one-time bonuses, showed no growth in August after a revised 5.3% increase in July. The ministry's inflation gauge for calculating real wages held at 2.2%, below the year-earlier 3.1%. Data last week showed Tokyo core inflation accelerated in September at a 10-month high, bolstering the case for further rate hikes.