Posted on 26 Jun 2015
Japanese consumer prices grew a tepid 0.1% year-on-year in May while household spending rose for the first time in more than a year, official data showed Friday.
Core inflation, excluding volatile fresh food prices, beat market expectations for zero growth but was still well short of the Bank of Japan’s 2% target.
Lower fuel prices and other energy costs helped curb inflation, data from the internal affairs ministry showed.
Analysts say the central bank will almost certainly be forced to expand its monetary easing scheme to jack up prices and counter a downturn in economy.
Sustained inflation is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s drive to conquer deflation and revive growth.
His pro-spending policy, coupled with the central bank’s massive stimulus, has sent the yen lower and boosted stock prices.
Separate data from the internal affairs ministry showed household spending rose 4.8% on-year in May, posting the first rise since Japan raised sales taxes in April last year to help pay down a huge national debt.
The jobless rate was unchanged at an 18-year low of 3.3% in May.
