Japan: Headline inflation slows in February
The core consumer price index, which excludes the price of fresh food, decreased 0.1% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in February, contrasting the 0.1% increase in January, mainly due to lower prices for transportation and communication.
Core inflation slowed to 0.6% in February from 0.8% in January, as expected by market analysts but still well below the Bank of Japan’s inflation target of 2.0%. Meanwhile, overall inflation slowed to 0.4% in February from 0.7% in January.