Japan inflation tepid, June spending falls

TOKYO: Japanese inflation was tepid last month while household spending suffered a surprise drop, official data showed on Friday, fanning speculation the central bank would unleash a fresh round of stimulus.

Core inflation, excluding volatile fresh food prices, edged up 0.1 percent from a year ago, the government said, while excluding food and energy, prices rose 0.6 percent—both well short of the Bank of Japan’s 2.0-percent target.