(Bloomberg) -- The Japanese government raised its overall inflation forecast to 2.6% for the current fiscal year ahead of the central bank’s policy decision meeting next week, the Cabinet Office said Thursday. 

The upward revision from the previous forecast of 1.7% shows stronger-than-expected inflationary pressure. Japan saw that trend holding up even after accounting for government price-relief measures, which the Cabinet Office says shaves 0.5 percentage points off this year’s price reading.

For fiscal 2024, the government expects overall inflation to slow to 1.9%. The forecasts are for year-on-year changes on overall consumer prices, which stood at 3.2% in May. June data is due Friday, with analysts expecting the reading to remain at the same level. 

The forecasts come ahead of the Bank of Japan’s latest policy meeting at the end of next week, which investors are closely watching for any shifts to policy. Until last month, many economists were linking a possible upward revision to the central bank’s price outlook to a change in policy, but fewer analysts now see that as likely in the latest survey.

This time the BOJ is said to raise its inflation forecast above 2% for this fiscal year, but their view for the following year is expected to be largely unchanged, potentially suggesting that the central bank may hold off from any major change this time. 

The BOJ has kept up its aggressive monetary easing in an effort to get its main inflation gauge — consumer prices excluding fresh food — to be anchored above its 2% target. 

Earlier this week, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated it would take a shift in the bank’s assessment of stably achieving its inflation target to change its stance of continuing with persistent monetary easing. 

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