(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Japan's core consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.2 percent in March from a year earlier as the impact from lower oil prices faded, the government said Friday.
The increase of core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh foods, gained for the 22nd straight month, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The 2.2 percent rise followed a 2.0 percent expansion in February. The gain was largely attributed to cheaper oil prices, which fell 1.0 percent in March, compared to February's 2.1 percent decline, according to the ministry.
Excluding the effects of last April's sales tax hike, which rose from five percent to eight percent, the CPI edged up 0.2 percent. On Thursday, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) delayed the timing of achieving its two percent inflation target to around the first half of fiscal 2016, subject to the impacts from crude oil prices.
The BOJ has previously aimed to reach the two percent price goal in the period centering on the fiscal 2015. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration has placed a priority on revitalizing the world's third-largest economy by beating prolonged deflation that has lasted for nearly 15 years. (end) mk.rk
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