Japan's consumer prices stopped their increase as a February's core index remained flat, making it the second straight stable month, the government said Friday, dpa reported.
The nation's key consumer price index (CPI), which excludes fresh food prices, remained unchanged in February year-on-year at 100.4 against 100 for the base year of 2005, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a preliminary report.
The overall CPI, including fresh food prices, fell 0.1 per cent to 100.4, marking the first decline in 17 months.
The core index dropped 0.1 per cent in February from the previous month, while the overall index was down 0.3 per cent.
The figures show that prices are no longer in an upward trend, Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said at a press conference Friday.
The core CPI was expected to fall 0.1 per cent year-on-year in March, the first decline since September 2007, economists said.