TOKYO, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core consumer prices in January increased 2.0 percent from a year earlier, marking a two-year low and matching the central bank's inflation target, government data showed Friday.
The increase in the core consumer price index (CPI), excluding volatile fresh food costs, slowed from a 2.4 percent gain in December, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The deceleration was largely due to the effect of fuel subsidies, the abolition of a provisional gasoline tax and the base effect of last year's surge in food prices, the data showed.
Core-core CPI, which strips away both energy and fresh food to reflect underlying price trends, increased 2.6 percent year-on-year in January.
Food prices, excluding fresh items, rose 6.2 percent in January, slowing from a 6.7 percent growth in the previous month, while energy costs fell 5.2 percent after a drop of 3.1 percent in December. ■
