TOKYO, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Japan’s real wages rose 1.5% in August from a year earlier, marking ‌the eighth consecutive month of gains, government data showed ‌on Wednesday, pointing to a continued recovery in wage growth.

• The ​solid wage data supports the case for the Bank of Japan to continue raising interest rates after hiking its benchmark rate last month.

• The growth in real pay was ‌slower than July’s ⁠revised 2.0% gain.

• Average nominal wages, or total cash earnings, rose 3.8% to 311,364 yen ($1,969.66), ⁠slower than a revised 4.3% increase in July.

• Workers’ base salaries, or regular pay, increased 3.8%, unchanged from a ​revised 3.8% ​rise in July. Overtime pay ​growth in August stood ‌at 5.2%, up from July’s revised 4.5% rise.

• Special payments, consisting mostly of one-time bonuses that tend to be volatile, showed no growth in August after a revised 5.3% increase in July.

• The inflation rate used by ‌the ministry to calculate the headline ​real wage indicator remained unchanged ​from July at 2.2%. ​It remained below year-earlier levels, when it ‌stood at 3.1%.

• Annual core ​inflation in Japan’s ​capital accelerated in September at its fastest pace in 10 months, data showed last week, highlighting mounting ​price pressures and ‌bolstering the case for further interest rate hikes ​from the central bank.

($1 = 158.0800 yen)

(Reporting by Hina ​Suzuki; Editing by Jamie Freed)