Overall consumer price inflation on a 12-month basis rose to 3.4% in December from 3.1% the month before. But excluding volatile food and energy costs the pace of price increases fell to 3.9% from 4%, showing ongoing moderation in underlying price pressures.
Asian stocks fall ahead of US non-farm payroll data
Shares in Australia and Japan fell more than 1% in opening trade while equity index futures for Hong Kong slipped. Drops for Japanese benchmarks reflected