Japanese inflation sent bad message to BoJ

Japan's consumer prices fell in September for the seventh straight month, data showed Friday, heaping more pressure on the central bank to push back its inflation target deadline, the government announced Friday. The disappointing data came as the world's third largest economy struggles to kick-start growth and conquer a long battle against deflation.

Excluding volatile fresh food costs, core consumer prices fell 0.5 percent year-on-year. While on projection with the market forecast, this puts the Bank of Japan's 2 percent inflation target set in April 2013 even further out of reach. The current deadline is set for March 2018. With prices still nowhere near that level, BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is reportedly considering rolling back the deadline for the goal.

Separately, government figures also showed that household spending in September shrank 2.1% from a year ago, slightly better than expectations for a drop of 2.7%. Unemployment, meanwhile, remained at a multi-decade low of 3.0%.

"Falling energy prices as well as the impact of the yen's appreciation continued pressuring CPI figures," said Michinori Naruse, an analyst at the Japan Research Institute. "Under this situation, the Bank of Japan has no choice but to delay the deadline of the target."