Japan’s wholesale inflation steady at 3.8% in December

JAPAN’S wholesale prices rose 3.8 per cent in December from a year earlier, central bank data showed on Thursday, highlighting persistent inflationary pressure from rising raw material costs.

The rise in the corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, matched a median market forecast. It followed a revised 3.8 per cent annual increase in November.

An index measuring yen-based import prices rose 1.0 per cent in December from a year earlier after a 1.2 per cent drop in November, the data showed.

The data is among factors the Bank of Japan will scrutinise at next week’s policy meeting.

Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday the BOJ will debate whether to raise interest rates at the two-day meeting ending on Jan 24, signalling its intention to take borrowing costs higher barring a Donald Trump-driven market shock. REUTERS