Reuters survey: Japan's core inflation rate may slow for the second consecutive month in January.

A survey shows that due to the decrease in gasoline costs and the slowdown in food price growth, Japan's core consumer inflation rate in January may slow for the second consecutive month. A survey of 17 economists by Reuters shows that Japan's national core consumer price index, which includes energy items but excludes fresh food prices, is expected to increase by 2.0% year-on-year in January. This increase is the same as in January 2024. Core CPI rose by 2.4% year-on-year in December last year. As businesses continue to pass on rising raw material costs to consumers, core consumer inflation has exceeded the central bank's 2% target for nearly four years.