The housing investment deflator likewise rose in fiscal 2013 reflecting front-loaded construction activities, and it is still rising owing to labor shortages as well as the increased cost of construction materials.
The year-on-year rate of change in the consumer price index (CPI, all items less fresh food) shifted from minus 0.2 percent in fiscal 2012 to plus 0.8 percent in fiscal 2013 and then to 2.8 percent (around 0.8 percent excluding the direct impact of the consumption tax hike) in fiscal 2014 (Chart 1).