TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's core consumer prices in February rose 3.0 percent from a year earlier, but the pace of increase slowed for the first time in four months due in part to the resumption of state subsidies for utility bills, government data showed Friday.

The rise in the nationwide core consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh food, followed a 3.2 percent gain in January. The inflation rate has remained at or above the Bank of Japan's 2 percent price stability target since April 2022.

The core-core CPI, which strips out both energy and fresh food to reflect underlying price trends, increased 2.6 percent, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.

While the government terminated subsidies for utility costs late last year, it reinstated them for electricity and city gas consumed between January and March as households continue to be burdened by higher prices.

Energy prices were up 6.9 percent from a year earlier, easing from a rise of 10.8 percent in January.

Electricity prices rose 9.0 percent, sharply decelerating from an 18.0 percent climb in January, while those for city gas grew 3.5 percent, also slowing from a 9.6 percent gain.

Inflationary pressure, however, remains strong as food prices continue to increase, fanning concern that prolonged cost hikes against a backdrop of the yen's depreciation may make consumers more reluctant to spend, weighing on the broader economy.

Prices for food, excluding fresh items, rose 5.6 percent, while those for rice jumped 80.9 percent, the highest since comparable data became available in 1971, amid short supply and soaring production and transportation costs, the ministry said.

Takeshi Minami, chief economist at the Norinchukin Research Institute, said surging food prices have offset the positive impact of the energy subsidies, undermining the support for households and discouraging consumption, a key component of Japan's economy.

Earlier this week, the Japanese central bank left its policy rate unchanged at 0.5 percent, after lifting it from around 0.25 percent in January in a bid to curb the negative effects of price hikes on the economy.

At a press conference on Wednesday after its board meeting, BOJ chief Kazuo Ueda reiterated his readiness to tighten monetary policy further if the domestic economy and prices develop in line with the central bank's expectations.

Minami said, "With weak consumer spending unlikely to prompt the BOJ to accelerate its rate hikes, it will be challenging for it to take action at the next meeting" of the central bank's policy-setting board to be held for two days from April 30.

Among other major items, prices for durable goods advanced 5.4 percent in February as colder weather than last year boosted demand for air conditioners.

Service prices, which the BOJ closely monitors when deciding on monetary policy as they often reflect wage increases, climbed 1.3 percent in February, compared with 1.4 percent in January, as those for package tours to Asia declined.