Japan’s inflation accelerated more than expected on higher food prices, rising at the fastest pace since the middle of 2023 and keeping the Bank of Japan on track to raise its benchmark interest rate further.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.2% last month from a year earlier, the biggest gain since June 2023, according to the ministry of internal affairs Friday. The acceleration was slightly faster than expected, and was pushed up by higher processed food prices including a record 70.9% jump in the cost of rice, the country’s staple food.
Overall inflation accelerated to 4% from 3.6%, according to the ministry, hitting that mark for the first time in two years. Fresh food prices rising at the fastest pace in two decades also contributed to the acceleration in overall inflation, as vegetable prices, including cabbage, soared.
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