Core consumer prices rise for 13th month in Jan.

February 23, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's core consumer prices climbed 0.9 percent from a year earlier in January, up for the 13th month in a row, as upbeat oil prices led to rises in electricity and gasoline prices, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday.

The result compared with the median forecast of a 0.8 percent increase among 20 economic research institutes surveyed by Jiji Press.

The core consumer price index, which excludes often volatile fresh food prices, stood at 100.4 against 100 for the base year of 2015. Month on month, the index was up 0.2 percent after seasonal adjustment.

The rate of year-on-year growth has stayed at 0.9 percent since last November, after steadily accelerating from 0.1 percent in January 2017.

Consumer prices are expected to "continue to rise at a moderate pace," a ministry official said.

The overall CPI advanced 1.4 percent from a year before in January, with fresh food prices surging 12.5 percent as vegetable prices shot up amid bad weather. The overall index rose 1.0 percent in December.

Energy prices, including electricity bills, jumped 6.7 percent, while prices of food, excluding fresh food, rose 1.3 percent. Prices of clothes and shoes gained 0.5 percent.

Communication fees dropped 1.7 percent, reflecting discounted mobile phone plans. Prices of household durable goods fell 2.0 percent. Jiji Press