Japan: Core inflation accelerates in December
The core consumer price index increased 0.1% in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in December, following November’s 0.2% rise. The increase in December was mainly due to higher prices for transportation and communication.
Core inflation accelerated to 0.7% in December from 0.5% in November, as expected by market analysts but still well below the Bank of Japan’s inflation target of 2.0%. Meanwhile, overall inflation accelerated to 0.8% in December from 0.5% in November.