TOKYO, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Core consumer price index for Japan's capital Tokyo, a leading indicator of nationwide trends, climbed 3.3 percent in February from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, core consumer prices in Tokyo, which excludes fresh food but includes fuel costs, matched the median market forecasts, marking a sharp decline from a nearly 42-year high of 4.3 percent jump in January.
The drop was primarily due to the effect of government subsidies for household energy use, which caused electricity bills to fall by 1.7 percent, the first decline since July 2021, the data showed.
In the recording period, the cost of food continued an upward trajectory, with non-fresh foods climbing 7.8 percent, the biggest increase since August 1976, while energy costs rose 5.3 percent, much slower than a 26-percent hike in January. ■