TOKYO, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Core consumer prices in Japan rocketed 2.2 percent in June, marking the fastest pace in over seven years, with the figure surpassing the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) once-lofty 2 percent inflation goal, the government said in a report on Friday.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the nationwide consumer price index, excluding fresh food prices because of their volatility, increased for the 10th successive month year-on-year in the reporting period, as resource-poor Japan continues to grapple with surging global energy prices and a weak yen.
The latest reading comes on the heels of a 2.1 percent increase logged in both April and May underscoring the extent to which Japan is experiencing inflationary pressure, although the BOJ has continued to not budge and stay pat on its ultra-loose monetary policy, unlike other major central banks trying to tame inflation.
The interest rate gap between Japan and other countries, therefore, is widening which is also contributing to the yen's weakness and inflating the prices of imports, the costs of which are being passed on to consumers despite the fact that salaries here have long-remained stagnant.
The statistics bureau said that kerosene prices leaped 23.4 percent from a year earlier in the reporting period, while gasoline prices climbed 12.2 percent. City gas, meanwhile, jumped 21.9 percent, the bureau said.
Food prices, excluding those of perishables, increased 3.2 percent, marking the fastest pace of increase since 2009, the ministry also said.
The so-called core-core CPI, meanwhile, excluding both energy and fresh food items, was up 1.0 percent, booking the third straight monthly gain, the ministry also said.
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