Japan's core consumer prices increase 0.7 pct in September

TOKYO, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Japan's core consumer prices increased 0.7 percent in September from a year earlier, the government said on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes fresh food prices because of their volatility, although unchanged from August, rose for the ninth straight month in the recording period.

The ministry attributed the increase to rising energy costs.

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 October from a year earlier, the ministry said.