By Leika Kihara
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s annual wholesale inflation hit 4.0% in February, data showed on Wednesday, underscoring pressure from rising raw material costs that will keep alive market expectations of a near-term interest rate hike by the central bank.
The rise in the corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, matched a median market forecast. It slowed from a 4.2% year-on-year increase in January.
Yen-based import prices fell 0.7% in February from a year earlier after a 2.3% gain in January, data by the Bank of Japan showed.
The central bank ended a decade-long, massive monetary stimulus last year and raised short-term interest rates to 0.5% from 0.25% in January on the view Japan was on the cusp of sustainably achieving its 2% inflation target.
With consumer inflation exceeding its target for nearly three years, the BOJ has signaled its readiness to raise interest rates further if the economy sustains a moderate recovery.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara)
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