Japan consumer prices up a tad in July

TOKYO — Japan’s government says consumer prices unexpectedly rose in July from a year earlier as fuel costs climbed.

The nation’s core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, edged up 0.1 percent, the government said Friday. Economists had predicted a small decline.

But July’s rise is likely to be temporary, meaning Japan has yet to overcome deflation. Preliminary CPI for the Tokyo area — considered an indicator of broader price trends for the country — fell 0.2 percent in August.