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Japan’s consumer inflation eases for 5th month
Japan's consumer inflation eased in December for a fifth straight month as oil prices slumped, raising further doubts over the Bank of Japan's ability to meet its ambitious inflation targets. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.5 percent in December from the year-ago period, government data showed on Friday, compared with Reuters' forecast for a rise of 2.6 percent and down from the 2.7 percent print in November. The BOJ hopes its massive quantitative easing program unleashed since April 2013 will defeat inflation for good and bring CPI stripped of sales tax hike up to 2 percent by financial year ending March 2016, ... (full story)