Nationwide consumer prices in Japan added 0.2 percent on year in July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday – matching forecasts and slowing from 0.4 percent in June.
Overall core consumer prices, which exclude the volatile costs of food, were flat on month. That beat expectations for a decline of 0.2 percent following the 0.1 percent gain in the previous month.
On a monthly basis, overall inflation eased 0.1 percent and core CPI was flat.
Overall inflation for the Tokyo region, considered a leading indicator for the nationwide trend, was up 0.1 percent on year in August – unchanged from July and as expected.
Core CPI for Tokyo was down 0.1 percent on year, unchanged but beating forecasts for a fall of 0.2 percent.
On a monthly basis, overall inflation gained 0.2 percent and core inflation added 0.1 percent.
Also on Friday:
. The average of household spending in Japan was down 0.2 percent on year in July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said – coming in at 280,471 yen.
That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent following the 2.0 percent decline in June.
The average of monthly income per household stood at 587,156 yen, up 5.4 percent on year.
The average of consumption expenditures per household was 314,788 yen, up 0.7 percent on year.
. The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.3 percent in July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
That was below forecasts for 3.4 percent, which would have been unchanged from the June reading.
The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.20 – exceeding expectations for 1.19, which would have been unchanged from the previous month.
The participation rate was 59.6 percent, down from 60.0 percent a month earlier.
The number of employed persons in July was 63.81 million, an increase of 240,000 or 0.4 percent on year.
The number of unemployed persons in July was 2.22 million, a decrease of 260,000 or 10.5 percent on year.
. Retail sales in Japan were up 1.6 percent on year in July, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
That beat forecasts for an increase of 1.1 percent following the 1.0 percent gain in June.
Sales from large retailers jumped an annual 2.1 percent, matching forecasts and up from the 0.3 percent decline in the previous month.
On a monthly basis, retail sales climbed 1.2 percent – topping forecasts for an increase of 0.6 percent following the 0.6 percent decline in June.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com