09/09/30 22:43:19 0
Record price tumble sparks deflation fears
URLﾘﾝｸ(search.japantimes.co.jp)
Kyodo News
Prices in Japan tumbled at a record pace in August, intensifying
concerns that deflation could undermine the fragile economic
recovery.
The key consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh
food prices, fell 2.4 percent from a year earlier amid rising
unemployment and falling wages, the government said Tuesday.
The figure marks the steepest decline since officials began
compiling comparable data in 1971.
The result matched the average market forecast in a Kyodo News
survey.
Core CPI has now dropped for six straight months and suggests
that the economy could face another bout of prolonged deflation.
The core CPI for Tokyo retreated 2.1 percent in September,
according to the statistics bureau. The result suggests that prices
nationwide are headed further south. Prices in the capital are
considered a leading barometer of price trends across Japan.