Japan’s consumer inflation eases further in December 2023

ANKARA

Japan’s headline inflation eased to 2.6% in December last year, marking its lowest level since June 2022, official figures showed on Friday.

The figure was down from 2.8% in November 2023, data from the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry showed.

The decline was led by a slowdown in food price hikes in December. The cost of food rose the least in 14 months in December, 6.7%, following a 7.3% year-on-year rise in November.

Japan’s core inflation rate, which excludes fresh food, also cooled to an 18-month low of 2.3% from November’s 2.5%, meeting market forecasts.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index edged up 0.1% in December.

• Japan