Japan: Core consumer prices fall again in May
The core consumer price index, which excludes the price of fresh food, decreased 0.1% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in May, after falling 0.5% in April. This latest decline was largely due to lower prices for transportation and energy.
The core consumer price index decreased 0.2% in May compared to the same month last year, as it did in April. The change was also substantially below the Bank of Japan’s target of a 2.0% increase. Overall inflation was unchanged at 0.1% in May.