Japan’s core consumer prices rise 2.4 pct in Sept.

TOKYO, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — Japan’s core consumer prices rose 2.4 percent in September from a year earlier, as climbing prices for energy and food continue to weigh on households despite government efforts to slow their rises, official data showed Friday.
The pace of increase in the nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), excluding volatile fresh food, slowed from 2.8 percent in August, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The data marked the first deceleration in five months as government measures helped to suppress energy price rises during the period.
Core-core CPI, which excludes both fresh food and energy costs and is closely watched by the BOJ as a key gauge of broader inflation trends, rose 2.1 percent.
Electricity bills surged 15.2 percent year on year during the month, narrowing from the 26.2-percent rise seen in August, while energy costs rose by 6 percent, down from a 12-percent increase in the previous month, the data showed.
Accommodation prices also saw a slower rise, increasing by 6.8 percent, down from 9.5 percent in August.
Meanwhile, food prices excluding fresh products continued to climb, rising by 3.1 percent compared to August’s 2.9-percent increase.
Japan’s inflation rate has remained at or above the 2 percent inflation target of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) since April 2022, data showed. ■