As the economy faced pressure from high global raw material prices that have pushed up the cost of the country’s imports.

The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food costs but includes those of energy, rose 2.2% in June from a year earlier, government data showed. The data, which matched a median market forecast, meant inflation stayed above the BOJ’s 2% target for a third consecutive month. It followed rises of 2.1% in May and April.

The core-core CPI, which strips away both volatile food and fuel costs, was up 1% in June from a year earlier, marking the sharpest rise since February 2016.

The rise in consumer prices challenges the Bank of Japan’s view that recent price hikes in the world’s 3rd-largest economy will remain somewhat temporary, even as households worry about higher living costs. The bank of Japan is keeping ultra-low interest rates in place even as global peers tighten policy to cool rising prices.