Japan inflation unchanged in February before sales-tax rise

Bloomberg - Japan’s inflation rate matched forecasts in February ahead of a sales-tax increase next week that could challenge the Bank of Japan’s effort to stoke 2 percent price gains.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 1.3 percent from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo, matching the median estimate of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News on the BOJ’s key inflation gauge.

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