Inflation in Japan falls to 18-month low

Japan's inflation rate fell to 2.6% in December, core inflation held steady Japan's headline inflation rate fell to 2.6% in December from 2.8% in November, reaching its lowest level since June 2022. Japan's core inflation rate, which excludes fresh food prices, also fell to 2.3% from 2.5% in November, in line with economists' expectations. The "core-to-core" inflation rate, which excludes fresh food and energy prices and is closely monitored by the Bank of Japan, stood at 3.7%, slightly below the 3.8% seen in November.