Japan wholesale prices rose 9.5% in Jan

TOKYO  – Japan’s wholesale prices in January rose 9.5 percent from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, adding to growing signs of inflationary pressure that could keep the central bank under pressure to phase out its massive stimulus program.

The increase in the corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, compared with a median market forecast for a 9.6-percent gain. It followed a revised 10.- percent rise in December, Bank of Japan data showed.

While global commodity inflation has run its course, companies continued to charge higher prices for products ranging from food, steel and chemical goods, the data showed.

The data suggests that Japan’s core consumer inflation, which hit a 41-year high of 4 percent in December, will likely remain well above the central bank’s 2 percent target in coming months.