Japan's core consumer prices rise 3.2 pct in March

TOKYO, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core consumer price index (CPI), excluding volatile fresh food, rose 3.2 percent year on year in March, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed on Friday.

This marks an acceleration from February's 3.0 percent increase and the fourth consecutive month that core inflation has remained above 3 percent.

While government subsidies have helped curb energy-related price hikes, food prices, particularly rice, continue to surge.

Rice prices jumped 92.1 percent year on year, the largest increase since comparable data began in January 1971, marking the sixth consecutive month of record-high growth due to rising production and transportation costs, as well as tight supply-demand conditions.

Other contributors to inflation include higher prices for hamburgers at restaurants, reflecting increased logistics and labor costs, and rising egg prices due to the impact of avian flu in January.

Including fresh food, overall CPI rose 3.6 percent in March, slightly down from February's 3.7 percent, as prices of fresh items like broccoli, tomatoes, and strawberries declined.

For fiscal 2024, the average core CPI rose 2.7 percent to 108.7, marking the fourth straight year of increases, although the pace slowed slightly from fiscal 2023's 2.8 percent. ■