By Max Sato
(MaceNews) – Producer inflation in Japan continued to ease in July to the slowest pace in seven months, after hitting a 41-year high in April, as year-on-year gains in costs for lumber and wood, chemicals and non-ferrous metals decelerated, while prices of gasoline and other fuels lost steam again after a slight pickup in June, data released Wednesday by the Bank of Japan showed.
The outlook for global supply bottlenecks remains uncertain despite some signs of easing, with slower Chinese demand helping take some upward pressure off fuels and copper.
As more Japanese firms are passing higher producer costs onto customers, core consumer prices are estimated by the Bank of Japan to rise 2.4% in fiscal 2022 before slowing to 1.4% in the next fiscal year on fading effects of the earlier surge in energy and commodities prices. BOJ policymakers do not expect inflation to be anchored around its stable 2% target any time soon.
The key points of domestic CGPI:
* The corporate goods price index (CGPI) rose 8.6% on the year in July, coming in slightly above the median economist forecast of an 8.5% rise. It was the 17th consecutive gain after rising 9.4% (revised up from 9.2%) in June, 9.3% in May and 10.0% (revised up from 9.9%) in April, and the slowest since the 8.6% rise in December 2021. The April figure remains the highest since December 1980, when the index jumped 10.4% for the 14th straight month of double-digit percentage gains in the wake of the 1979 oil crisis triggered by the Iranian Revolution.
* The depreciation of the yen continues exerting upward pressure on already high import costs at producer levels, which also marked the 17th straight year-on-year rise. The increase in yen terms was larger at 48.0% in July (47.6% in June), compared to 25.4% (27.1% previously) in contract currencies.
* Prices for lumber and wood products remained elevated but continued easing to a 29.8% increase in July from a 43.5% rise in June. Those for non-ferrous metals gained 9.8%, sharply slower than the 16.2% gain in June. The prices for iron and steel rose 27.2%, at the same pace as seen the previous month.
* Prices for petroleum and coal products rose 14.7% on the year in July, decelerating from a 21.8 rise in June, when it posted a slight pickup from May.
* On the month, the domestic CGPI rose 0.4% in July after rising 0.9% (revised up from 0.7%) in June, being flat (revised down from a 0.1% gain) in May and rising 1.5% (revised from 1.4%) in April. It was just under the median economist forecast of a 0.5% rise. Utilities (gas, electricity), food and beverages (formula feeds, wheat flour) and iron and steel led the increase, more than offsetting declines in the prices of nonferrous metals (copper), gasoline and other fuels as well as scrap and waste.