TOKYO - Japan's core consumer prices in May rose 1.4 percent from a year earlier, government data showed Friday, with subsidies for gasoline prices capping the upside.
The increase in the nationwide consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food, followed a 1.4 percent rise in April and remained below 2 percent for the fourth consecutive month, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Core-core CPI, which strips away both energy and fresh food to reflect underlying price trends, rose 1.8 percent in May.
Energy costs fell 2.5 percent on year, after a 3.9 percent drop in April, as gasoline prices sank 7.0 percent with the subsidies, also helped by the end of a provisional tax on the fuel in December. Electricity bills declined 2.4 percent.
With the Middle East conflict pushing up crude oil prices, the government has been providing subsidies to oil wholesalers since mid-March to keep the average retail price of gasoline at around 170 yen ($1) per liter.
Prices for food, excluding fresh items, climbed 3.5 percent in the reporting month, decelerating from a 4.1 percent increase in the previous month, with inflation slowing for the 10th straight month.
Rice prices saw a 4.9 percent drop, turning negative for the first time since November 2022, the ministry said. Although prices have remained elevated, growing stockpiles are helping to contain increases.
Exterior paint costs, meanwhile, jumped 4.7 percent amid higher raw material prices.
A ministry official said it is difficult to determine whether any of the price movements can be directly attributed to the Middle East situation.
The Bank of Japan lifted its key interest rate to a 31-year high of 1.0 percent earlier this week. The CPI data is among the materials considered by the central bank in determining whether to hike its policy rate to sustainably achieve its 2 percent inflation target.
