Japan Inflation and Retail Sales January 2008

Japan's consumer prices as measured by the General Index (ie including food and energy costs) rose for a fourth consecutive month in January at a year on year rate of 0.7%, maintaining the fastest pace achieved in more than nine years, as companies passed the higher costs of oil, wheat and soybeans onto consumers. Core consumer prices (ie stripping some foodstuffs) climbed 0.8 percent from a