The final statistic for the day will be released at 7:30 PM when Japan’s Consumer Price index for March is announced.  Last month the indices for both the headline and the core measure which excludes fresh food and energy, showed a gain of 1.0% from a year earlier.   

Although low by country comparison standards, the inflation comes at a bad time in the Japanese economy as a softening employment situation, and worries about the export market are already making consumers cautious about spending.  The higher inflation caused by higher energy costs, simply makes consumers less likely to spend and has led to calls that perhaps the Bank of Japan will have to ease rates later in the year.