Asian shares rise
The government also said the jobless rate had fallen to a six-year low of 3.6 percent.
HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian markets edged higher in quiet trade Friday, with Wall Street providing a tepid lead following a mixed batch of economic indicators, while Tokyo was buoyed by another pick-up in Japanese inflation.
With few major catalysts to drive business, investors are keeping an eye on the release next week of key data from China, the United States and Japan.
Tokyo climbed 0.17 percent in the morning, Hong Kong added 0.86 percent, Sydney gained 0.28 percent, Shanghai was 0.60 percent higher and Seoul put on 0.31 percent.
Official Japanese figures showed inflation hit 1.3 percent in February, in line with the central bank s target and a ninth consecutive rise in prices after two decades of punishing deflation. Even excluding volatile energy prices and foodstuffs, the figure came in at 0.8 percent.
The government also said the jobless rate had fallen to a six-year low of 3.6 percent.
However, retail sales came in surprisingly weak, confounding expectations of a surge from shoppers ahead of a controversial sales tax that kicks in on April 1.
The latest inflation figures provided some early support to the yen, as they reduced the likelihood of any fresh monetary easing from the Bank of Japan.
But Daisuke Uno, strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, said such measures were unlikely anyway.
"Even if the (inflation) figures had sharply disappointed... it s probably a bit unrealistic to expect the Bank of Japan to implement any more easing unless and until hard numbers come in showing a need for such action," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
Uno warned markets could feel the pinch if the sales tax increase -- which Japan s government says is necessary to curb its mountain of debt -- hits consumer spending hard over the next few months.
In morning trade the dollar fetched 102.20 yen compared with 102.17 yen late in New York, while the euro was worth $1.3743 and 140.45 yen against $1.3742 and 140.41 yen.
US shares ended lower on the contrasting set of numbers. First-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped over the past week, and US fourth-quarter economic growth was revised up. But pending home sales fell to the lowest level since October 2011.
The Dow edged 0.03 percent lower, the S&P 500 slipped 0.19 percent and the Nasdaq lost 0.54 percent.
On oil markets, New York s West Texas Intermediate for May delivery climbed seven cents to $101.35 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude declined 14 cents to $107.69.
Gold fetched $1,293.08 an ounce at 0230 GMT compared with $1,292.97 late Thursday.
Next week sees the release of closely watched data that will give a fresh idea about the state of the global economy.
Tuesday sees the release of Chinese manufacturing data and the Bank of Japan s Tankan survey of business confidence, while the US non-farm payrolls report comes out on Friday
