Tokyo core consumer prices rise at fastest pace in more than a year

TOKYO : Core consumer prices in Tokyo rose at the fastest pace in over a year in November, data showed on Friday, as electricity and fuel costs surged due to higher global energy prices and the costs of overnight stays jumped.

The uptick in prices highlights the chance nationwide inflation will pick up in coming months as pressures from raw material shortages gradually pass through to retailers to consumers.

The core consumer price index (CPI) for Japan’s capital, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, rose 0.3per cent in November compared with a year earlier, government data showed.

That marked the fastest year-on-year rise since July last year, when the index gained 0.4per cent, but was slightly weaker than a median market forecast for a 0.4per cent gain.

The Tokyo index, which is considered a leading indicator of nationwide price trends, was pushed up by the biggest year-on-year jump in energy prices in over eight years as well as the fastest rise in fuel costs in more than four decades.

It was also impacted by a 57.6per cent year-on-year increase in accommodation costs, which was flattered by the low base effects of various travel-related discounts offered by the government last year.

The cost of tuna and other fresh fish also rose, likely due to soaring fuel costs as well as stronger domestic demand, a government official said, though they are not included in the core consumer price index.

Nationwide consumer inflation in Japan has barely risen even as other major economies, such as the United States, are worrying about the risk of too-high inflation after their economies opened up from pandemic-induced lockdowns.

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Sam Holmes)

For all the latest business News Click Here 

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! TechAI is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.