TOKYO — Japan’s overall consumer prices rose at 3.2% from a year earlier in March, slightly slower than the 3.3% increase in February, government data showed Friday.
The pace of price increases has slowed since February due to the government’s measures to ease the impact of higher electricity and gas prices.
Meanwhile, consumer prices excluding fresh food and energy rose 3.8% from a year earlier in March, compared with the 3.5% increase marked in February.
The Bank of Japan’s new governor, Kazuo Ueda, has said recently he expects inflation to fall below the bank’s 2% target toward the latter half of this fiscal year, which started in April, and the bank would continue monetary easing.
