Japan's consumer prices, excluding fresh food, rose 3.0% in February compared to the same month last year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced on the 21st.
This marks a continuation of the 3% increase for three consecutive months, following the same increase in December last year. However, the February increase is 0.2 percentage points (p) lower than January's 3.2%, which was the highest in 1 year and 7 months.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun noted, "The government's resumption of electricity and gas price subsidies has led to a slowdown in the increase rate after 4 months," adding, "Including fresh food, last month's increase rate was 3.7%."