Japan's core consumer prices up 2 pct in Sept

Japan's core consumer prices rose 2.1 percent in September from a year earlier, exceeding the two percent inflation target set by the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan for the first time in nine months, according to government data released on Friday.

The nationwide consumer price index (CPI), excluding fresh food, rose from a 1.7 percent year-on-year growth rate in August, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Water and accommodation prices turned from year-on-year declines to increases in September, accounting for most of the growth in core CPI that month. The two rose 4.9 percent and 4.6 percent year on year, respectively, after falling 3.5 percent and 1.4 percent in August.

Food prices, excluding fresh food, rose 2.9 percent year on year, up from 2.7 percent in August.

Experts said as shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz push up international oil prices, related costs will gradually feed through to goods and services prices, and Japan's price increases are expected to widen further by the end of the year.

The warning came as the Japanese government released its energy white paper for fiscal 2025 on Friday, which said Japan's vulnerability in energy supply and demand has once again come to the fore amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The white paper said Japan has long relied on the Middle East for more than 90 percent of its crude oil imports. Following the U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran in late February this year, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy transit route, was disrupted, creating uncertainty over supplies of crude oil and petroleum products.

To secure domestic energy supplies, the government has released oil reserves and stepped up efforts to procure alternative supplies from regions outside the Middle East since March. These measures helped ensure crude oil supplies to Japan, according to the white paper.

However, concerns over the supply outlook prompted stockpiling of certain petroleum-related products, disrupting distribution and leading to uneven supplies across the country, it said.

Japan's core consumer prices up 2 pct in Sept

The U.S. consumer sentiment kept falling in October for the third month in a row, as purchasing power continued to dominate consumer views of the economy, according to findings of a survey released on Friday.

The final reading released by the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers showed that the Index of Consumer Sentiment weakened to 48 in the October 2026 survey, 0.2 percent below September, and 10.4 percent below a year ago. The index was also 15 percent less than in February, just prior to the Iran conflict.

The Current Economic Conditions Index fell to 46.7, down from 50.9 in September and below last October's 58.6. The Index of Consumer Expectations inched up slightly to 48.8 from 46.3 in September, but was still below last October's 50.3.

Year-ahead inflation expectations in October ticked up from 4.6 percent in September to 4.7 percent. Long-run inflation expectations also stepped up from 3.4 percent in September to 3.5 percent. Inflation expectations over both time horizons increased for the second straight month to their highest readings since May.

The survey noted that Americans' dissatisfaction with how high prices are affecting their living standards continued to grow. In October, the share of consumers reporting that high prices are dragging down their personal finances rose for the fourth consecutive month to 56 percent, up from 45 percent in January.

US consumer sentiment continues to slip in October over inflation