Consumer inflation in Tokyo eased in September after outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reinstated energy subsidies to help households cope with one of the hottest summers on record.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.0% in September, the slowest pace since May, according to the ministry of internal affairs Friday. That matched the median estimate of economists. A gauge that also strips out energy prices stayed at 1.6%.
Slowdowns in electricity and gas prices were the biggest factors behind the deceleration, with the government’s measures knocking 0.5 percentage point off overall inflation. Tokyo inflation is a leading indicator for national price trends.
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