Japan's core inflation in September hit its highest this year at 2.1%, overshooting analysts' expectations, pressured by steeper import costs due to a weak yen and the indirect impact of higher energy costs.
Core inflation, which strips out prices of fresh food, was in line with estimates by economists polled by Reuters, and accelerated from the 1.7% in the prior month.
Headline inflation came in at 2.1%, while the so-called "core-core" inflation, which excludes prices of fresh food and energy and is the Bank of Japan's preferred gauge, was at 2.4%.
"That acceleration was noteworthy, not least because it occurred despite a sharp slowdown in fresh food inflation and continued energy deflation," said Abhijit Surya, senior APAC economist at Capital Economics.
Rice prices notably declined 20.6% year on year, however, Surya said that this sharp drop could not prevent overall goods inflation from picking up to 2.8%, up from August's 2.6%.