SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Japanese consumer prices posted their sharpest monthly drop in August since at least 1971, according to government data released Tuesday.
Japan's core consumer price index fell 2.4% in August compared to the same month last year, to 100.1, the steepest drop since comparable data was first gathered in 1971, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The monthly decline marked the sixth straight for the index, following a then-record 2.2% decline in July.
Core prices in the Tokyo metropolitan area fell 2.1% in September to 99.7, the government said. That also marked the sharpest decline since 1971.
