Japanese inflation stalled in February with a key measure of prices flat for the first time in nearly two years, data showed Friday, weighed by a plunge in oil rates and tepid consumer spending.
The dismal figures come after Bank of Japan chief Haruhiko Kuroda acknowledged this month that dragging the country out of years of deflation was proving to be "very challenging", and he warned that inflation may temporarily fall to zero.
While core inflation, excluding volatile fresh food prices, rose 2% in February, a measure that strips out the impact of a sales tax rise last year — which is the BoJ's benchmark — came in flat from a year ago