MADRID, 20 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Japan's benchmark inflation rate, which excludes fresh food price volatility, rose 2.1% year-on-year in April, compared with a 0.8% rise in March, marking the largest increase of prices since March 2015, when the Government applied a VAT increase from 5% to 8%.

Japan's general consumer price index stood at 2.5% in April, compared to 1.3% in March, as a result of higher energy and food prices, which represents the highest rise since 1991.

For its part, the underlying data, which excludes both components, rose to 0.8% in April, one tenth above the inflation registered in March.

"Inflation exceeded the Bank of Japan's 2% inflation target for the first time since 2008 and we expect core inflation to approach 2% by the end of this year, but this will not prompt the BoJ to tighten policy," he said. Marcel Thieliant, an analyst at Capital Economics.