TOKYO: Japan’s wholesale inflation accelerated for three straight months as companies continued to pass on rising raw material and labour costs, data showed on Wednesday (Dec 11), keeping the central bank under pressure to raise interest rates again.
The data for November comes ahead of the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) two-day policy meeting ending on Dec 19, when some analysts expect it to raise short-term interest rates from the current 0.25 per cent.
The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, rose 3.7 per cent last month from a year earlier, BOJ data showed, exceeding a median market forecast for a 3.4 per cent gain and marking the fastest annual pace of increase since last July.
The increase, which followed a 3.6 per cent gain in October, was due to higher prices for food, non-ferrous metals and plastic goods reflecting rising commodity and labour costs. The index, at 124.3, extended a record high for the third straight month.
“We’re seeing renewed inflationary pressure in domestic corporate goods prices,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
“While consumption lacks momentum, real wages are no longer falling much. Given building inflationary pressure, there’s a good chance the BOJ could raise rates in December,” he said.
