Japan's core consumer prices in May rise 3.7% on surging rice costs

Japan's core consumer prices in May rose 3.7 percent from a year earlier, marking the biggest increase in more than two years, as rice and other food costs surged, government data showed Friday.The increase in the nationwide consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food, was the sharpest since January 2023 and followed a 3.5 percent rise in April. The inflation rate has remained at or above the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target since April 2022.Core-core CPI, which strips away both fresh food and energy to show underlying price trends, was up 3.3 percent in May, accelerating from 3.0 p…READ FULL ARTICLE