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Japan wholesale inflation likely hit 13-year high in Sept on rising commodity costs

08 October 2021 09:55 (UTC +04:00)

Japan's wholesale prices likely hit a 13-year high in September, buoyed by lofty commodity prices, while firms' machinery orders are expected to have risen for the second straight month in August, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, APA reports.

The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which tracks the prices companies charge one another for their goods, likely rose 5.9% in September from a year ago, according to a poll of 17 economists. That would be its highest annual price gain since September 2008. The index grew 5.5% year-on-year in August.

On a monthly basis, Japan's wholesale prices likely grew 0.3% in September after being flat the previous month, the poll showed.

"Commodity inflation will affect prices of petroleum products, chemical, steel and other metals, which results in a higher growth" in wholesale inflation, said Shunpei Fujita, an economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting.

"But as the growth in commodity prices slows, corporate goods inflation in Japan will gradually cool down."

Commodity prices have rallied recently amid energy supply worries, stoking concerns about global inflation. But with Japan's main inflation gauge still well below target at 0.0% in August, the Bank of Japan is expected to stick to massive monetary stimulus for the foreseeable future.