Japan Price Gains Buoyed by Energy Offer BOJ Little Comfort

Japan’s core inflation accelerated for a fourth month in January, but with the gain boosted by gasoline costs the data does little to bolster a case that consumer-led price momentum is picking up as the Bank of Japan hopes.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 0.8% from a year earlier, picking up speed from a 0.7% gain in December, the ministry of internal affairs reported Friday. The result matched economists’ median forecast.