Japan's wholesale prices unchanged on year in August

Japan's wholesale prices were unchanged in August from a year earlier, the Bank of Japan said in a preliminary report on Friday.

The result compares with a median forecast for a 0.2 percent annual fall.

Revised data from the central bank showed that prices were also unchanged in July, compared with a preliminary estimate for a 0.1 percent year-on-year fall.

Domestic final goods prices, which loosely track the consumer price index, fell 1.2 percent in August from a year earlier, the bank said and according to the report, overall final goods prices, which are the prices of finished products charged to businesses, declined 1.9 percent in the recording period from a year earlier.

The Domestic Corporate Goods Price Index measures prices for goods purchased by Japanese corporations.

As prices for input materials and the overall cost of manufacturing change, Japanese companies adjust retail prices accordingly.

The CGPI in Japan comprehensively tracks these supply-side price pressures and increases in the index often precede upward movement in the CPI.

If an increase in the CGPI is followed by a rise in the CPI, concerns about inflation may prompt the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates. The headline numbers are the percentage change in the index month or month and annually.

Source:Xinhua