Japan Producer Prices Up 2.7 Pct in May

June 12, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's producer price index for May rose 2.7 pct from a year before, up for the 17th straight month, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.

The producer price index for May stood at 101.1 against 100 for the base year of 2015. The rise mainly reflected higher crude oil and nonferrous metal prices, according to the central bank.

The size of increase was 0.6 percentage point larger than the previous month's revised figure, marking the first acceleration in the growth pace in seven months.

Prices of petroleum and coal products surged 19.4 pct.

Nonferrous metal prices climbed 9.3 pct on the back of a rise in aluminum prices. Steel prices went up 4.4 pct thanks to robust domestic demand.

"Market prices may be swayed by political maneuvering, including on the United States' protectionist trade policies, so we'll keep a close watch," a BOJ official said. Jiji Press