Japan's inflation rate rose for second consecutive month in June

TOKYO -- Japan's core inflation rate rose for the second straight month in June, pushed higher by rising electricity costs, and stayed above the central bank's 2% target, government data released on Friday shows.

The core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, rose 2.6% from a year earlier, following a rise of 2.5% in May. The latest figures from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications are slightly lower than the median forecast of 2.7% among economists surveyed by QUICK.