Japan's core consumer prices increase 0.8 pct in October

TOKYO, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Japan's inflation rate increased in October for the 10th consecutive month, but still remained far below the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) 2 percent inflation target, a government report showed Friday.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food prices because of their volatility, gained 0.8 percent on year in October.

The latest increase comes on the heels of a 0.7 percent rise in the previous month, the statistics bureau said, marking the 10th successive monthly rise for the index.

The core CPI for Tokyo's 23 wards, meanwhile, a data widely regarded as a precursor of nationwide prices in the coming months, increased 0.6 percent in November from a year earlier.

The 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.

The percent change in the CPI is a widely used gauge by the government here and the central bank to estimate inflation in any given period. Enditem