Japan consumer prices fall for eighth straight month

[TOKYO] Japan's consumer prices fell in October for the eighth straight month, data showed Friday, giving the world's third largest economy no sign of winning a long battle against deflation.

Core consumer prices, excluding volatile fresh food costs, declined 0.4 per cent on-year - in line with the market forecast - putting the Bank of Japan's 2.0 per cent inflation target further out of reach.

Earlier this month, Japan's central bank again pushed back the timeline for hitting its inflation target, the latest policy change that has raised questions about its attempt to revive the deflation-plagued economy.

The country has been struggling to conquer a deflationary spiral of falling prices and lacklustre growth.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to office in late 2012 and launched a growth plan - a mix of massive monetary easing, government spending and red-tape slashing.

But economists are increasingly writing off the "Abenomics" spend-for-growth policy.

AFP