Japan’s June wholesale prices rise 2.9% y/y

[TOKYO] Japan’s annual wholesale inflation slowed in June for the third straight month, data showed on Thursday, backing up the central bank’s view that price pressures from rising raw material costs will gradually dissipate.

The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, rose 2.9 per cent in June from a year earlier, Bank of Japan data showed, matching a median market forecast and slowing from a revised 3.3 per cent gain in May.

The yen-based import price index fell 12.3 per cent in June from a year earlier, after a 10.3 per cent drop in May, indicating the currency’s rebound was pushing down raw material import costs. REUTERS