Japan’s wholesale inflation accelerates as weak yen lifts import costs By Reuters

By Leika Kihara

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s wholesale inflation accelerated in June as the yen’s declines pushed up the cost of raw material imports, data showed on Wednesday, keeping alive market expectations for a near-term interest rate hike by the central bank.

The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, rose 2.9% in June from a year earlier, Bank of Japan data showed, matching a median market forecast and accelerating from the previous month’s revised 2.6% gain.

The yen-based import price index increased 9.5% in June from a year earlier, accelerating from a revised 7.1% rise in May, in a sign the weakening currency was inflating the price companies charge each other for imported raw material.