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Japan's May consumer inflation tops BOJ target for 2nd straight month
Japan's annual core consumer inflation topped the central bank's target for a second straight month in May, data showed on Friday, highlighting the intensifying pressure on the country's fragile economy from soaring global raw material costs. The data challenges the Bank of Japan's view that the recent rise in prices is temporary, and doesn't warrant a withdrawal of monetary stimulus. The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose 2.1 per cent in May from a year earlier, data showed, matching a median market forecast. It stayed above the BOJ's 2 per ... (full story)