Japan producer prices rise at fastest pace in Feb.

Jiji Press

17:50 JST, March 10, 2022

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Producer prices in Japan in February rose 9.3% from a year before, marking their steepest growth since comparable data became available in 1981, pushed up by higher crude oil and other materials prices, the Bank of Japan said Thursday.

The producer price index stood at 110.7 against the 2015 base of 100, hitting the highest level since May 1985 and rising for the 12th straight month.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, international prices of commodities and farm products are surging. This is “expected to spill over to prices in Japan with a time lag of several months,” the central banks official said.

In February, 67.2% of products covered by the producer price data logged year-on-year growth, up from 65.9% in the previous month.

Prices of petroleum and coal products jumped 34.2%. Electricity, city gas and water charges grew 27.5%. Prices surged 24.5% for steel products and 12.3% for chemical products.