Japan Producer Prices Rise 2.6 Pct in March

Tokyo, April 10 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s producer prices rose 2.6 pct in March from a year earlier, driven by higher prices for agricultural, forestry and fishery products, as well as for nonferrous metals, Bank of Japan data showed Friday. The pace of increase accelerated from the 2.1 pct rise in the previous month. The impact on producer prices from the Middle East crisis has begun to appear as gasoline prices are on the rise amid higher crude oil prices. The producer price index, which measures the costs of goods traded between companies, stood at 129.5 against the 2020 average of 100, the BOJ said in a preliminary report. Of the 515 items surveyed, 365 recorded price increases while 129 posted declines. Prices of nonferrous metals grew 31.1 pct on the back of higher copper and gold prices. Prices of agricultural, forestry and fishery products rose 18.9 pct, led by a surge in rice prices. Food and beverage prices rose 4.3 pct, reflecting moves to pass higher raw materials and packaging costs on to product prices. Amid the tensions in the Middle East, prices of oil and coal products, including gasoline and gas oil, rose 7.7 pct from the previous month, while prices of chemical products increased 1.7 pct. The import price index, which measures the costs of goods imported from overseas, jumped 7.9 pct from a year earlier in yen terms. It edged up 2.2 pct on a contract currency basis. For fiscal 2025, which ended in March, the producer price index climbed 2.7 pct from the previous year to 127.5, rising for the fifth consecutive year and hitting a record high for the fourth straight year. A BOJ official said, “We will continue to monitor developments in international commodity markets, including the Middle East situation, the impact on supply chains and the impact of the government’s measures against inflation.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]