nikkei 225 +97
Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese inflation unexpectedly slowed in October as oil prices dropped, giving the central bank room to delay an increase in interest rates to support a recovery in the world's second-largest economy.
Core consumer prices, which exclude fresh food, rose 0.1 percent from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo, slower than the 0.2 percent median forecast of 36 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The gain also slumped from a 0.2 percent increase in September.
Governor Toshihiko Fukui has said the Bank of Japan needs to gradually raise the lowest interest rates among major economies to sustain economic growth and avoid excessive business investment and asset-price bubbles. A slowdown in core prices won't impede the bank's attempt to raise interest rates early next year, said economist Eishi Yokoyama.