Tokyo, Jumada I 8, 1439, Jan 25, 2018, SPA -- Consumer prices in Japan climbed 0.9 per cent from a
year earlier in December for the 12th straight month of increase amid
rising global energy prices, the government said Friday.
The cost of kerosene jumped 16.5 per cent and that of gasoline 10.3 per cent, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The core consumer price index, excluding fresh food, stood at 100.7 against a base of 100 for 2015, the ministry said.
The index for the year of 2017 grew 0.5 per cent from the previous year, the first rise in two years, it said, but the reading was still far from the government's 2-per-cent target.
The central bank said on Tuesday it expects the consumer price index to climb 0.8 per cent for the current financial year through March, unchanged from its estimate in October.
--SPA
03:34 LOCAL TIME 00:34 GMT