Japan’s inflation eases to 2.7%, Yen up amid risk aversion

Annual consumer price inflation in Japan has slowed to 2.7% in March from a 3-month high of 2.8% in February, data by the Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications showed.

The actual figure came in line with market consensus.

In March, prices moderated for transport (2.9% YoY versus 3% YoY in February), clothing (2% YoY versus 2.6% YoY in February), furniture & household utensils (3.2% YoY versus 5.1% YoY), healthcare (1.5% YoY versus 1.8% YoY), communication (0.2% YoY versus 1.4% YoY) and culture & recreation (7.2% YoY versus 7.3% YoY in February).

Meanwhile, inflation remained steady for food (at 4.8%), housing (at 0.6%) and education (at 1.3%).

Japan’s annual core inflation rate, which excludes fresh food but includes fuel costs, eased to 2.6% in March from a four-month high of 2.8% in February.

The core inflation rate has now remained at or above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for 24 months in a row.

The Japanese Yen was 0.14% firmer on the day against the US Dollar, with the USD/JPY currency pair last trading at 154.427.

Traditional safe haven assets such as the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Franc received a boost after media reports emerged that Israel had launched an attack on Iranian soil on Friday, days after Iran launched a retaliatory drone strike on Israel.