TOKYO, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Japan's key consumer price index (CPI) fell 2.3 percent in September from a year earlier, the government said Friday.

    The core nationwide CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, stood at 100.2 against the base of 100 for 2005, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a preliminary report.

    The headline reading compares with the average market forecast of a 2.4 percent fall.

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