Economy Japan's wholesale inflation easing, reducing pressure for interest rate hike

[thomas]

The BOJ reported yesterday that Japan's annual wholesale inflation rate slowed to 2.9% in June, marking the third consecutive month of deceleration. The slowdown could be attributed to declining prices for fuel and metal products. However, food prices continued to climb, driven in part by high rice costs. Some analysts suggested that broader inflationary pressure may ease further in the coming months as the economic impact of U.S. tariffs on Japan becomes more pronounced. The figures support the central bank's outlook that the effects of earlier increases in raw material costs are starting to subside.

The corporate goods price index, which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, rose 2.9% in June from the same month a year earlier, the data showed, matching a median market forecast. The index, a leading indicator of consumer inflation, slowed from a revised 3.3% in May due partly to falling prices of fuel and metal products, the data showed. The yen-based import price index dropped 12.3% in June from a year earlier, after a 10.3% decline in May, indicating the currency's rebound pushed down raw material import costs. Food and beverage prices rose 4.5% in June on stubbornly high cost of rice, though it slowed from a 4.7% increase in May, the data showed.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/japan-june-wholesale-prices-rise-29-yy-2025-07-10/