TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's core consumer prices rose 2.5 percent in December from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday.
The core consumer price index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, was less than economists' median estimate for a 2.6 percent annual gain.
The so-called core-core inflation index, which excludes food and energy prices and is similar to the core index used in the United States, rose 2.1 percent in the year to December.
Core consumer prices in Tokyo, available a month before the nationwide data, rose 2.2 percent in January from a year earlier, versus a 2.2 percent annual rise seen by analysts in a Reuters poll. OLGBBUS Reuters UK Online Report Business News 20150129T235000+0000