Japan Inflation Rate

Japan's consumer prices rose by 0.1% yoy in October 2021, slowing from a 0.2% gain a month earlier. Inflation mainly slowed for food (0.5 % vs 0.9% in September), furniture and household utensils (0.9% vs 1.7%), and education (1.1% vs 1.2%). At the same time, cost declined at a faster rate for both transportation & communication (-7.5% vs -6.4%) and medical care (-0.3% vs -0.2%). In contrast, inflation was unchanged for both housing (at 0.7%) and miscellaneous (at 1.2%), while prices accelerated for both fuel, light, and water charges (6.4% vs 4.4%) and culture & recreation (4.3% vs 3.3%). Core consumer prices, which exclude fresh food, went up at 0.1% yoy in October, the same as in September, also advancing for the second month running, amid a surge in prices of energy and raw materials, but still far below the Bank of Japan's 2% target. On a monthly basis, consumer prices dropped by 0.3%, swinging from a 0.4% gain in September.