TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s wholesale prices jumped 10% in April from the same month a year earlier, data showed on Monday, rising at a record rate as the Ukraine crisis and a weak yen pushed up the cost of energy and raw materials.
The surge in the corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, marked the fastest year-on-year rise in a single month since comparable data became available in 1981.
The gain followed a revised 9.7% increase in March, and was higher than a median market forecast for a 9.4% increase.
The yen-based import price index jumped 44.6% in April from a year earlier, Monday’s data showed, a sign the yen’s recent declines are inflating the cost of imports for Japanese firms.
The soaring wholesale prices are likely to put upward pressure on Japan’s consumer inflation, which currently still remains below the central bank’s 2% target due mainly to weak wages and household spending.
(Reporting by Kentaro Sugiyama and Daniel Leussink; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
