Japan’s headline inflation rate fell to 1.5% in January, its lowest level since March 2022.
The reading ended a run of 45 straight months in which inflation had remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target.
Core inflation rate, which excludes fresh food prices, eased to 2%, the lowest level since January 2024 and matching the 2% forecast by economists polled by Reuters. It was down from 2.4% in December.
The so-called “core-core” inflation — excluding prices of fresh food and energy — came in at 2.6%, compared with 2.9% in December.
The slowdown was driven by declines in fresh food, raw meat and fresh flower prices, as well as a sharper drop in petroleum products.
