Japan’s Jobless Rate rose to 5.0% in March, surprising expectations for it to remain at 4.9%.

Tokyo CPI for April was released simultaneously. Core Tokyo consumer prices (excluding both food and energy) declined by an annual 1.4%, above expectations for a 1.6% drop to follow the 1.2% decline in March. Meanwhile, core CPI (excluding fresh food) slipped by 1.9% year-over-year in April versus calls for a 2.1% decline after the 1.8% fall previously. Headline Tokyo consumer prices, on the other hand, declined by 1.5% on the year, surprising the consensus forecast for a 2.1% fall to follow the revised 1.8% drop in March.

However, national Japanese CPI for March was in line with the consensus forecast. Core national consumer prices (excluding both food and energy) weakened by 1.1% on the year, as expected, and mirroring their drop in February. Core prices (excluding fresh food) slipped by an annual 1.2%, as forecast, and following its identical drop in February. Finally, headline national CPI slipped by 1.1% on the year in March, as expected, and again mirroring its drop the month before.

While the rise in Japan’s jobless rate is yen-negative, the smaller-than-expected fall in Tokyo CPI is supportive for the currency. However, the two releases seemed to cancel each other out, with the yen strengthening only slightly – USD/JPY slipped by just 0.11 yen to 93.94, a new intraday low.