Japanese data surprised to the upside Friday, as consumer prices rose, unemployment eased, and household spending increased more than expected. The February jobless rate slipped to 4.5% from January's 4.6%, the Internal Affairs Ministry reported. The result beat expectations from a Dow Jones Newswires poll, which had tipped no change. The core consumer price index, which strips out fresh-food costs, rose 0.1% from a year earlier, or 0.2% from the previous month, the ministry said, marking the first such gain in prices in five months. A Dow Jones Newswires survey had called for mild deflation of 0.1%. Spending by ... (full story)