Japan's core consumer prices fell 0.7% in October from a year ago, marking the sharpest decline in over nine years, weighed down by a domestic tourism-boosting subsidy program and weak energy prices amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Friday.
The decline in the core consumer price index also came as it lost momentum in year-on-year terms, over the past year driven by a sales tax hike from 8% to 10% implemented in October 2019, according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.
The core CPI — excluding volatile fresh food prices — dropped for the third straight month and economists expect prices to remain weak, reviving fears of the country slipping back into deflation despite the Bank of Japan's massive monetary easing program.