Japan’s wholesale inflation eases, goods close to consumers continue to rise

TOKYO  -Japan’s wholesale inflation slowed for a fifth consecutive month in May because of sliding fuel and commodity prices, data showed on Monday, a sign cost-push pressure that has driven up consumer inflation may be subsiding.

The data underscores the central bank’s view that consumer inflation will slow in coming months as global commodity prices slide from last year’s peak levels.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to maintain ultra-loose policy this week and stick with its forecast for a moderate economic recovery, as robust corporate and household spending cushion the blow from slowing overseas demand, sources have told Reuters.

BOJ set to keep ultra-low rates, may signal inflation overshoot

The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for goods and services, rose 5.1 percent in May compared with a year earlier, BOJ data showed, slower than the median market forecast for a 5.5-percent gain.

The rise came after a revised 5.9-percent increase in April and was well off the peak of 10.6 percent hit in December last year, as prices of electricity, fuel, nonferrous metals and chemical goods fell, data showed.

But prices of beverage and food goods rose 7.9 percent in May from a year earlier and those of electric equipment were up 5.5 percent, the data showed, a sign cost pressures for sectors close to households such as retailers and restaurants were showing little signs of abating.

Japan’s consumer inflation stays above central bank target as price hikes broaden

Japan’s core consumer inflation hit 3.4 percent in April as companies continued to raise prices, casting doubt on the BOJ’s view that inflation will slowly move back below 2 percent toward the latter half of the current fiscal year ending in March 2024.