Jul 22 (Al Jazeera) - Japan’s core consumer inflation remained above the central bank’s 2 percent target for a third straight month in June, as the economy faced pressure from high global raw material prices that have pushed up the cost of the country’s imports.
The rise in consumer prices challenges the Bank of Japan’s view that recent price hikes in the world’s third-largest economy will remain somewhat temporary, even as households worry about higher living costs.
The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food costs but includes those of energy, rose 2.2 percent in June from a year earlier, government data showed.
The data, which matched a median market forecast, meant inflation stayed above the BOJ’s 2 percent target for a third consecutive month. It followed rises of 2.1 percent in May and April.
