Japan CPI core (all item ex-fresh food) dropped further to -1.0% yoy in December, down from -0.2% yoy, but was above expectation of -1.1% yoy. That’s still the biggest annual decline in core inflation since September 2010. Headline CPI (all items) dropped to -1.2% yoy, down from -0.9% yoy. CPI core-core (all item ex-fresh food and energy) dropped to -0.4% yoy, down from -0.3% yoy.
“I don’t think the risk of Japan sliding back into deflation is high,” BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda insisted yesterday. “But potential growth may be falling so we need to look at the impact (on prices) carefully.”
