Japanese consumer inflation slowed again in December due to lower electricity and gas bills, government data showed Friday, ahead of a Bank of Japan policy decision next week.
Prices in the world’s third-largest economy, excluding volatile fresh food, rose 2.3 percent year-on-year in December, down from 2.5 percent the previous month.
For the whole of 2023, consumer prices rose 3.1 percent year-on-year, the highest since 1982 according to the internal affairs ministry. The monthly figure was in line with market expectations and continued a broad trend of cooling inflation over the past year, down from 4.2 percent in January 2023.—Xinhua
