Japans core consumer prices drop for 9th straight month in Nov.

Japan's core consumer prices dropped in November marking the ninth successive month of decline, as the nation has been grappling with falling prices for energy which is hampering the Bank of Japans (BOJ) 2 percent reflationary goal, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Tuesday.

The ministry said that the core CPI, which includes oil products but excludes volatile fresh food prices, retreated 0.4 percent in November, with the fall matching that of Octobers decline.

While the "core-core" CPI, excluding food and energy for its volatility, rose 0.1 percent in the recording period, the overall index, including fresh food, rose 0.5 percent on year in November, owing to a hike in prices for fresh produce due to inclement weather, the ministry said.

Core consumer prices in Tokyos 23 wards, the data of which is available a month before the nationwide data and is widely seen as a barometer for future price moves, meanwhile, dropped 0.6 percent in December from a year earlier, marking the 10th straight monthly decline.

The CPI is a measure estimating the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households.

A consumer price index measures a price change for a constant market basket of goods and services from one period to the next within the same area, city, region, or nation.

The index is determined by measuring the price of a standard group of goods meant to represent the typical "market basket" of a typical urban consumer.

The percent change in the CPI is a measure estimating inflation. Endit