Japan consumer inflation slows to 2.9% in October

(MENAFN- AFP) Japanese core consumer inflation continued to slow, increasing 2.9 percent in October year-on-year, according to data released Friday.

The figure matched the market's forecast and compared with September's reading of 3.0 percent amid worries about the nation's economic outlook.

Prices rose from year-earlier levels largely because the government raised sales tax from 5.0 percent to 8.0 percent on April 1, which drove up retail prices.

Adjusted for the tax increase, the nationwide core consumer-price index rose 0.9 percent from a year earlier in October, after climbing 1.0 percent in the previous month, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The figure is the lowest in 12 months, slowing substantially from a high of 1.5 percent in April, it added.