TOKYO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Japan's leading gauge of inflation was flat in June from a year earlier owing to the continued adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic, although improved after dropping for two straight months, the government said in a report on Tuesday.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the nationwide core consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food items, stood at 101.6 in the reporting period against the 2015 base of 100.
The latest reading comes after the index retreated 0.2 percent in April and May as prices for crude oil fell due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Gasoline prices falling 16.4 percent in May had weighed heavily on the index, the ministry said, but a decrease in the pace of decline in the recording period at 12.2 percent, helped support the overall index.
The ministry said for June there had been an uptick in global demand for crude oil, which helped slow the decline in gasoline prices.
"The slowdown largely supported the overall prices in June," a ministry official was quoted as saying, adding, "Crude oil prices have recently climbed, but lower oil prices in the first half of this year will translate into lower electricity and gas prices in the coming months and offset price hikes caused by higher oil prices."
Prices for accommodation dropped 6.6 percent, the statistics bureau said, owing to slumping domestic demand for travel amid continued concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in Japan, coupled with the country's ongoing virus-induced travel ban on numerous countries and regions.
Package tour prices subsequently declined 7.1 percent, the ministry also said.
While prices for electricity dropped 1.6 percent and those for gas fell 2.7 percent, mobile phone fees marked an uptick of 1.6 percent, the ministry said.
In addition, food prices, not including those for fresh food, gained 1.2 percent, while prices for household durable goods climbed 2.5 percent in the recording period, the ministry said.
The ministry also said that core-core consumer prices, which exclude both fresh food and energy items, increased 0.4 percent on year in the recording period.
Consumer prices declined 0.4 percent after May's 0.6 percent decline, when excluding the effects of last October's consumption tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent and a free preschool education and nursery program, the ministry also said. Enditem
