Inflation slows in Japan

Japan’s headline inflation rate stood at 3 percent in September. Japan’s headline inflation rate slowed to 3 percent in September from 3.2 percent in August. But the data marked the 18th consecutive month that inflation remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target. Core inflation, which excludes fresh food prices, also slowed to 2.8 percent from 3.1 percent in August. Separately, the BOJ’s “core-core” measure of inflation that excludes fresh food and energy prices fell to 4.2 percent from 4.3 percent in August.