TOKYO (XINHUA) – Core consumer prices in Japan’s capital grew 2.4 per cent in August from a year earlier over soaring rice prices, data showed yesterday.
The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food prices, stood at 107.9 for Tokyo’s 23 densely populated wards, against the 2020 base of 100, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Seen as a leading indicator of nationwide trends in Japan, the figure expanded from a 2.2 per cent rise in July, primarily driven by a surge in rice prices, according to the ministry.
Electricity costs and urban gas prices surged 24.2 per cent and 16.9 per cent, after government subsidies ended temporarily. Prices of food excluding fresh items went up 2.7 per cent. Rice prices, which jumped 26.3 per cent, experienced the largest rise in about 20 years, fuelled by poor crop growth due to last summer’s heatwave and increased demand from the restaurant industry.
Core-core CPI, which excludes both fresh food and energy costs, climbed 1.6 per cent year on year.
