Japan\'s core consumer price index fell 0.5 percent in November from a year ago, as deflation continues to plague the Asian economic giant, government data showed Tuesday.
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| People Tokyo\'s Ginza shopping district in October 2010. Japan\'s core consumer price index fell 0.5 percent in November from a year ago, as deflation continues to plague the Asian economic giant, government data showed Tuesday. |
The latest reading means Japan\'s core CPI has fallen for 21 straight months.
The fall, however, was slightly smaller than the median forecast for a 0.6 percent drop in a poll of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei.
In a separate announcement, Japan\'s unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent in November, unchanged from the previous month and matching the market\'s expectations.
On a brighter note, industrial output rose 1.0 percent in November from the previous month, rebounding after five straight months of declines.
The reading matched market expectations, thanks to a pickup in auto production, supported by the government\'s incentive programmes for new car purchases.
But the government remained cautious, saying: "industrial production has weakened."