2017.04.2802:23:00UTC+00Series of Japan Data Points to Sluggish Economic Growth, Weak Inflation

A series of economic data released a day after the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting indicated that the subdued recovery of Japan's economy is still on track for a fifth consecutive quarter, despite inflation being stubbornly below the central bank's target.

Japan's core consumer prices rose by 0.2 percent year-on-year in March, in line with estimates. Overall CPI advanced 0.2 percent from a year-prior period, marginally missing estimates of 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, jobless rate for the period came in at 2.8 percent compared to projections of 2.9 percent. Japan's job-to-applicant ratio stood at 1.45, above estimates of 1.43.

The country's retail sector saw its sales increase by 2.1 percent on-year in March, beating estimates of 1.5 percent annual growth. On a monthly basis, retail sales advanced 0.2 percent.

However, industrial output contracted by 2.1 percent month-on-month, a steeper decline than the expected 0.8 percent drop. Domestic consumption also continued to show weakness, with household spending falling 1.3 percent, significantly steeper than the anticipated fall of 0.5 percent.

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