Core consumer prices up 0.5% in July

August 25, 2017

TOKYO- Japan's core consumer price index in July rose 0.5 pct from a year earlier, up for the seventh straight month, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.

The increase, faster than a 0.4 pct rise in June, reflected hikes in electricity rates and gasoline prices that stemmed from higher crude oil prices.

The core CPI, which excludes often volatile fresh food prices, stood at 100.1 against 100 for the base year of 2015.

Energy prices climbed 5.8 pct, with electricity rates rising 6.1 pct, gasoline prices increasing 6.3 pct and kerosene prices jumping 21.2 percent.

Prices of food, excluding perishables, went up 0.9 percent, partly due to hikes in beer prices.

Hotel charges rose 0.4 percent thanks to an increase in foreign visitors to Japan.

Meanwhile, prices of durable goods for education and entertainment, including personal computers, fell 4 percent.

Excluding fresh food and energy prices, the July CPI rose 0.1 percent to 100.6. Jiji Press