(RTTNews) - Overall consumer prices in Japan were up 2.8 percent on year in May, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday.
That exceeded expectations for an increase of 2.6 percent and up from 2.5 percent in April.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, inflation rose 0.5 percent - again above forecasts for 0.2 percent and up from 0.4 percent in the previous month.
Core consumer prices, which exclude the volatile costs of food, rose 0.1 percent on month and 2.5 percent on year after the flat monthly reading and the 2.2 percent yearly gain a month earlier.
