TOKYO, July 22 — Japan’s core consumer prices for items excluding fresh products rose 2.2 per cent in June from a year earlier, driven by energy costs, government data showed Friday.

Excluding energy, the increase was just 1 per cent compared to a year earlier, according to data released by the interior affairs ministry.

The June inflation figures were in line with expectations and mark the third consecutive month that the reading has come in over two per cent, after 2.1 per cent increases in April and May.

Japan’s central bank has a longstanding goal of reaching two per cent inflation, but it regards the current price increases as temporary and linked to soaring energy costs driven by the war in Ukraine.

As a result, it has maintained its monetary easing policies at a time when central banks elsewhere are hiking rates to tackle inflation.

On Thursday, the bank raised its inflation forecasts, projecting 2.3 per cent for the fiscal year 2022/23, up from a previous expectation of 1.9 per cent. — AFP