Less Than Zero: Japan's CPI Falls as Oil Rout Trumps Kuroda
- Price drop will spur debate on boosting monetary policy
- BOJ is back where it started more than two years ago
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After hovering near zero for months, the Bank of Japan’s main inflation gauge dropped into negative territory as weak domestic demand and plunging oil prices wiped out the impact of Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s unprecedented monetary stimulus.
As forecast, consumer prices excluding fresh food fell 0.1 percent in August from a year earlier, the first decline since April 2013, the same month Kuroda embarked on a campaign of record asset purchases to rid Japan of its "deflationary mindset." Stripping out food and energy, prices rose 0.8 percent in August.