Without Energy's Drag, Inflation in Japan Is Approaching Target
- Oil's 36 percent decline this year holds down price gains
- Central bank putting more focus on CPI that excludes energy
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Prices rose more than 1 percent for a fourth month in Japan in November, according to an index that the Bank of Japan is emphasizing as it attempts to reach its 2 percent inflation goal.
Inflation was 1.2 percent in November compared with a year earlier, according to a consumer price index the BOJ released Friday in Tokyo that excludes fresh food and energy. The central bank calculates the number, basing it on the government’s data. Core CPI, which includes energy costs, rose 0.1 percent in the same period, data released earlier Friday showed.