Core consumer price index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices rose 2 percent, compared with 2.2 percent increase in the previous month. Core core consumer prices growth slowed to 2 percent in February from a year earlier compared with 2.1 percent reported in January.
Excluding the effect of last April's sales tax hike, core consumer price index was flat in February compared with a year earlier, the first time since May 2013 that it has stopped rising.
Year-on-year, the biggest price increases were reported for: food (+4.1 percent); fuel, light and water (+3.5 percent), culture and recreation (+3.5 percent) and clothes and footwear (+3.5 percent). Cost of furniture and household utensils grew by 1.6 percent, education by +2.2 percent, medical care by 1.8 percent and housing by 0.3 percent. In contrast cost of transportation and communication decreased by 0.4 percent.
Month-on-month, consumer prices declined by 0.2 percent, the same as in the previous month.
The consumer price index for Ku-area of Tokyo in March 2015 (preliminary) was 102.1 (2010=100), up 0.4 percent from the previous month, and up 2.3 percent over the year.