The Bank of Japan released the full text of its Outlook Report on the third, showing a forecast that even if crude oil prices continue to fall, persistent upward pressure will remain on domestic goods prices excluding energy for the time being. The report analyzes that while upstream chemical products and the like are expected to see selling prices turn downward along with the decline in crude oil, price hikes for midstream and downstream chemical products will be sticky to the downside because they include the pass-through of rising labor and logistics costs. It also points out that the ripple effects of a global demand shock from increased artificial intelligence-related demand, as well as the past yen depreciation and pressure to narrow the gap between domestic and overseas prices, are highly likely to continue exerting sustained influence for some time.