TOKYO - A gauge of Japan’s prices showed an end to four years of declines, signaling progress in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s campaign to stamp out deflation and drive a sustained economic revival.
Prices excluding energy and fresh food were unchanged from a year earlier, after sliding every month since December 2008, the statistics bureau said Friday in Tokyo. That matched the median forecast of 19 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
Advances in countering falling prices may help Abesustain confidence in the nation’s recovery and encourage companies to raise wages as a sales-tax increase planned for April threatens to deal a blow to consumption.
Fiscal and monetary stimulus are underpinning a revival in the world’s third-biggest economy after 15 years of deflation.
“Today’s data show that an entrenched deflationary trend is coming closer to ending,” Akiyoshi Takumori, chief economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “Wage growth will be key to cushioning the price increases.”
Business, Pages 34 on 10/26/2013