TOKYO -Core consumer prices in Japan’s capital Tokyo rose 2.1% in June from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, marking the fastest pace of increase in seven years in a sign of broadening inflationary pressure from higher commodity and fuel costs.
The rise in Tokyo’s core consumer price index (CPI), which matched a median market forecast, followed a 1.9% gain in the previous month. The pace of increase was the fastest since March 2015.
The data heightens the chance nationwide consumer prices will continue to rise in coming months. Japan’s nationwide core CPI rose 2.1% in May from a year earlier, mainly due to the impact from higher fuel and raw material costs.
It stayed above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for a second straight month, following a 2.1% rise in April, which was also the fastest pace of increase in seven years.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara)
