Aug 19 (Japan Today) - Core consumer prices in Japan rose 2.4 percent in July from a year earlier, marking the sharpest increase in about seven and half years amid surging material and energy prices, government data showed Friday.
The nationwide core consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food items, was up for the 11th consecutive month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
The rise was the sharpest since December 2014, when the index hit 2.5 percent after a consumption tax hike in April that year. Without the effect of that tax increase, July's core CPI was the highest since August 2008, according to the ministry.
The key gauge of inflation exceeded the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target for the fourth straight month on the back of higher crude oil prices driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a weak yen.
Despite the CPI remaining above its target, the BOJ is likely to maintain its ultralow monetary policy, unlike other major central banks that have started to raise interest rates to curb inflation, analysts said. ...continue reading
Source: TBS NEWS
