Japan’s Core Consumer Price Index declined 0.1 % The figure came after Tokyo’s CPI 0.4% decline a month earlier. Coupled with a 1.2% drop in Retail Sales due to a strong yen that makes Japanese exports less competitive and imports more attractive signal a reduced wage expectation from the net exporting nation.
The Bank of Japan and the government concede that the economy is in a lull, and they could come under increasing pressure to support it with currency intervention and monetary policy easing as Europe’s debt crisis weighs on external demand.
Auto and Machinery sales had record losses in 2011 even though they recovered by 2.5% in December.
