BOJ's quarterly Tankan showed large manufacturers' sentiment rose to 22 in June
from 17, beating economists' forecasts. Large non-manufacturers' sentiment
climbed to 37, the strongest since 1991. Firms' five-year annual inflation
expectations increased to 2.6%, the highest since 2014. The BOJ, which monitors
firms' price-expectation measures closely, said the readings support the case
for continued rate hikes. The survey covered a period that included a sharp
global oil-price spike after the outbreak of the Iran war.
