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BANGKOK—Shares rose in Europe on Friday after a retreat in Asia ahead of updates on U.S. consumer spending and durable goods orders.
Benchmarks climbed in London and Paris but fell in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul. Oil prices surged more than $1 a barrel.
Japan reported its core inflation rate, excluding volatile fresh foods, rose to 3.7 percent in November, the highest level since 1981, as surging costs for oil and other commodities added to upward price pressures in the world’s third-largest economy.
While price increases are much more modest in Japan than in the U.S. and most major European and emerging economies, they add to pressure on the Bank of Japan to adjust longstanding policies that have kept interest rates ultra-low to spur growth. For Japan, deflation—falling prices—rather than inflation has been the key concern for most of the past few decades. Recession in coming months remains a greater concern, economists say....