Japan April core CPI rises to 23-year high after sales tax hike

Japan's core consumer prices jumped 3.2 percent in April from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, the fastest gain since February 1991 as an increase in Japan's national sales tax boosted prices across the board. The increase in the core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices but includes oil products, compared with economists' median estimate for a 3.1 percent rise, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The Bank of Japan estimates that the sales tax hike - to 8 percent from 5 percent that took effect on April 1 - will add 1.7 percentage points to Japan's annual consumer inflation in April, and 2.0 points from the following month.

via Business News - Yahoo Finance http://ift.tt/1o2Ehly