Japan economy not in deflation, yet
Consumer prices in Japan were unchanged from a year earlier in July, defying expectations for a fall.
The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile prices of fresh food but includes prices of oil products, was flat in July from the year-ago period, government data showed on Friday, compared with Reuters' forecast for a drop of 0.2 percent and down from a 0.1 percent rise in June.
The core Tokyo CPI for August, considered a leading indicator, dipped 0.1 percent on year, unchanged from the previous month and better than predictions for a 0.2 percent fall.
In other data, household spending fell 0.2 percent from the year before, versus expectations for a 1.3 percent climb and after declining 2.0 percent in the previous month.
Retail sales rose 1.6 percent on year, beating forecasts for a 1.1 percent rise and following a 0.9 percent gain in the previous month.
Earlier this week, Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda sought to reassure investors that the central bank's 2 percent inflation target could be achieved by next year despite weaker oil prices.
The BoJ expects to lift inflation to 2 percent during the April-September first half of next fiscal year, a forecast many economists see as unrealistic.
Kuroda said that corporate profits in Japan were likely to remain strong and that the yen's strong appreciation was temporary. He cited a cycle of wage gains that he said were helping drive up inflation, adding that labor market conditions were very tight.
This is a breaking news story, please check back for updates.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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