Japan's core inflation hits 1.9% in June

TOKYO: Japan's core inflation rate accelerated to a new decade high of 1.9 percent in June amid surging energy and food costs, the government said on Friday.

It was the ninth straight monthly increase in consumer prices and the sharpest rise since March 1998.

The core inflation rate, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, picked up from an annualised 1.5 percent in May, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The figure for June matched market forecasts.