Browse > Home / Consumer Price Index, Economics / Japan’s Consumer Prices fall in February

Japan’s Consumer Prices fall in February

March 30, 2007
By Ken Worsley


Ok, we called it, but we exaggerated a bit: on March 25 this website predicted a 0.4% decrease in Japan’s consumer prices. This afternoon, the statistics bureau announced that in reality, Japan’s consumer prices fell 0.1% against February of last year.

Although this is the first decline in 10 months, most observers remain bullish on consumer prices, with BOJ governor Toshihiko Fukui among them. Mr Fukui said this week that he believes cheaper oil prices are causing the CPI to look lower than it actually is. Although Japan’s core CPI data strips out fresh food, it does not remove oil from the equation.

Bloomberg quotes Azusa Kato, an economist at BNP Paribas Securities, as saying:

Prices won’t show a clear gain until the fourth quarter, and that’s when we expect the next rate hike. The economy’s expansion is still slow, and the thrust from goods and services to inflation will remain sluggish.

Finance Minister Koji Omi said he doesn’t think the economy is still experiencing deflation, although the Cabinet Office has prudently not yet officially declared an end to deflation.

Filed Under Consumer Price Index, Economics 

Social Bookmarks:
del.icio.us:Japan's Consumer Prices fall in February digg:Japan's Consumer Prices fall in February newsvine:Japan's Consumer Prices fall in February furl:Japan's Consumer Prices fall in February reddit:Japan's Consumer Prices fall in February
Related Posts:
Japan’s consumer confidence shows slight recovery in March
February Consumer Confidence down to nearly five year lows
Japan’s Upcoming Economic Reports
Japan’s Cabinet Office: February consumer confidence index rises for second straight month
Japan supermarket sales show first rise in 26 months in February

Comments

One Response to “Japan’s Consumer Prices fall in February”

  1. This Week’s Economic Reports: The Consumer Price Index and Interest Rates : Japan Economy News & Blog on December 2nd, 2007 10:28 pm

    […] There are some big economic reports coming up at the tail end of this week. On Friday, March consumer price index data will be released. With much anticipation over the return of inflation to the Japanese economy, this will be one to watch. Last month, CPI data dropped 0.1% against February of 2006. […]

Got something to say?