Japan's core inflation rises in March due to soaring rice prices

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Japan's core consumer inflation jumped 3.2% year-on-year in March led by high rice prices, with the key index of inflation remaining at or above the Bank of Japan's 2% target for three years in a row, Kyodo News reported Friday.

Core inflation accelerated from the previous month's figure of 3%.

The core consumer price index (CPI) grew 2.7% over the previous year in the fiscal year ending March 31, in accordance with the Bank of Japan's projection. It followed a 2.8% increase in fiscal 2023, according to the source.

Meanwhile, core-core CPI, which excludes both energy and fresh food and reflects underlying pricing trends, increased 2.9% in March from the previous year, up from 2.6% the previous month.

Food costs, excluding fresh products, jumped 6.2%, with rice prices rising 92.1%, the largest rate since comparable statistics became available in 1971.

Energy costs jumped 6.6%, down from a 6.9% increase the month before, while prices for household durable goods increased 6.5%, up from 5.4% in February.

As a result of abnormally hot summer weather that reduced yields and farmers passing on higher production costs to households, prices of Japanese rice have now been growing at a record rate for each of the last six months, the report said.

The average price for a five-kilogram (11-pound) bag of rice at supermarkets was 4,214 Japanese yen (about $29), for the week ending April 6, more than double from the same period of last year, according to the public broadcaster NHK.