Year-on-year, cost declined for: housing (-0.1 percent in August from -0.1 in July); fuel, light and water charges (-7.2 percent from -7.7 percent), furniture and household utensils (-1.2 percent from -0.8 percent) and transport and communication (-2.3 percent from -2.6 percent). In contrast, prices rose for: food (+0.6 percent from +1.1 percent), clothes and footwear (+2.4 percent from +2.4 percent), medical care (+0.9 percent from +0.9 percent), education (+1.6 percent from +1.6 percent), culture and recreation (+0.4 percent from +0.8 percent) and miscellaneous goods and services (+0.6 percent from +0.7 percent).
Core consumer prices declined by 0.5 percent from a year earlier, the same pace as in July. It was the sixth consecutive month of fall and the fastest drop since March 2013 while market expected a 0.4 percent decrease. The so-called core-core consumer prices, which excludes food and energy prices rose 0.2 percent year-on-year, compared to a 0.3 percent rise in June.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices remained unchanged, following a 0.2 percent decline in the previous two months.
In Tokyo, consumer prices dropped by 0.5 percent year-on-year in September, the same as in August. Core consumer prices, which exclude fresh food, fell 0.5 percent from a year earlier, following a 0.4 percent drop in a month earlier while market estimates of a 0.4 percent drop.