TOKYO—The Japanese economy is picking up more and moving toward the central bank’s 2% inflation target, though only gradually, government data released Tuesday showed. The core consumer-price index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 0.9% in November from a year earlier, a slightly faster pace than an 0.8% increase in October. Another index used by the central bank to assess the state of inflation, which excludes both fresh food and energy, rose 0.3% from a year earlier, compared with a 0.2% rise in October.

Source: Wall Street Journal December 26, 2017 02:48 UTC