Feb core CPI up 3.1 yryr, matches forecast
Index excluding fresh food, fuel costs rises 3.5 in Feb
Data shows costpush pressure from raw materials easing

TOKYO, March 24 Reuters Japan39;s core consumer inflation slowed in February but an index stripping away energy costs hit a fourdecade high, data showed on Friday, suggesting costpush pressures may persist longer than policymakers thought.

With inflation still exceeding the Bank of Japan39;s 2 target, the data will keep alive market expectations of a tweak to its bond yield control policy under incoming governor Kazuo Ueda, analysts say.

The core consumer price index CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food but includes oil products, rose 3.1 in February from a year earlier, matching a median market forecast and slowing sharply from a 41year high of 4.2 seen in January.

The slowdown was mostly due to the effect of government subsidies to curb utility bills. Prices of nonenergy items like food and daily necessities continued to rise, a sign the passthrough of rising raw material costs have yet to run its course.

Inflationary pressure remains strong, said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Daiichi Life Research Institute. Many food producers have announced plans to hike prices further in March.

Highlighting the lingering costpush pressure, a separate index that strips away both fresh food and fuel costs rose 3.5 in February from a year earlier, accelerating from a 3.2 gain in January.

The index, dubbed corecore…