Tokyo, Safar 6, 1439, October 26, 2017, SPA -- Consumer prices in Japan climbed 0.7 per cent from a year earlier in September for the ninth consecutive month of increase amid growing energy prices, the government said today according to dpa. The reading was unchanged from August and still far off the government's 2-per-cent inflation target. The cost of kerosene surged 21.1 per cent and that of electricity rose 7.7 per cent, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The core consumer price index, excluding fresh food, stood at 100.3 against a base of 100 for 2015, the ministry said. In July, the Bank of Japan revised down its inflation forecast for the current financial year to 1.1 per cent from the 1.4-per-cent increase estimated in April. The central bank introduced an ultra-loose monetary policy in April 2013 in order to achieve the inflation goal within two years. --SPA 04:15 LOCAL TIME 01:15 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w521808