Bank of Japan upgrades economic view for 2 of 9 regions

According to Business Recorder, the Bank of Japan upgraded its view of the economy in two of Japan's nine regions on Thursday. It credited strong demand linked to artificial intelligence with propping up output in those areas. The central bank left its outlook unchanged for the other seven regions, as set out in a statement issued after a quarterly gathering of its regional branch heads.

The statement added that many regions have seen firms pass a wide array of higher expenses on to their buyers. Those pressures include dearer raw materials tied to the Middle East conflict, a weaker yen and higher labour costs. Taken together, the findings show that rising costs are being passed through in many of the areas the bank monitors.