TOKYO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core consumer prices rose 3.2 percent in January from a year earlier, the biggest gain in 19 months, amid higher rice and energy costs, government data showed Friday.
The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food prices, stayed in the 3-percent range for the second straight month after having climbed 3.0 percent in December, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The inflation rate, a key indicator for the Bank of Japan (BOJ) in determining the timing of rate hikes, has remained at or above the central bank's 2 percent target since April 2022.
Prices for food, excluding perishable items, gained 5.1 percent, up from 4.4 percent growth in December. Rice jumped 70.9 percent, the biggest increase since comparable data became available in 1971, due to a supply shortage, and higher production and transportation costs, the ministry said.
Energy prices rose 10.8 percent, up from a 10.1 percent gain in December, after gasoline prices increased as the government reduced subsidies, the data showed.
Core-core CPI, which strips away both fresh food and energy costs and is closely watched by the BOJ as a key gauge of broader inflation trends, was up 2.5 percent, accelerating from 2.4 percent in the previous month. ■
