Fuel costs lift Japan's December core CPI by 0.5% on year

Japan's core consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in December from a year earlier, driven by higher fuel costs and a weak yen that have threatened to cool consumer sentiment, government data showed Friday.The nationwide core consumer price index has been in a tug-of-war between higher energy prices, including for crude oil, and sharply lower mobile data fees, which fell 53.6 percent in December following reductions by major carriers amid government pressure.The headline figure marked the fourth straight month of year-on-year increase, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communicat…READ FULL ARTICLE