BOJ says Japan's economy slowing

TOKYO, May 20 (UPI) -- Japan's central bank said Tuesday the country's economy has been slowing but bankers said they were upbeat on the housing market since its slump last year.

"Japan's economic growth is slowing, mainly due to the effects of high energy and materials prices," the Bank of Japan said in its month report.

It used the same expression in its previous report, Kyodo news service reported.

The latest report said the economy "is expected to grow at a slower pace for the time being and follow a moderate growth path thereafter."

On the housing market, the bank said "housing investment has been recovering moderately," which was an improvement over last month when the bank saw the investment, while showing signs of recovery, had remained weak. Housing price hikes also were continuing in the latest report.

The year-on-year rate of increase in core consumer price inflation, which doesn't include fresh food prices, "has been around 1 percent lately," due to higher petroleum and food products prices.

The report said Japan's exports were expected to continue rising as overseas economies expand.