Consumer prices dropped a record 0.5 percent in fiscal 2000 for the second successive year of decline, led by lower prices of fresh vegetables and industrial products, the government said Friday.
The consumer price index for the fiscal year that ended March 31 stood at 101.5 against the 1995 base of 100, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said.
The figures reaffirm the economy is in deflation. Consumer prices also dropped for the second successive year in calendar 2000, registering a 0.7 percent fall, the biggest on a calendar-year basis.