Japan’s Wholesale Prices Slide 3.8% in October

Japan’s wholesale prices dropped 3.8 percent from a year earlier in October for the seventh straight month of fall, dragged down by lower crude oil prices amid concerns about China’s slowdown, data from the Bank of Japan showed Thursday.

The index of corporate goods prices stood at 101.5 against the 2010 base of 100, the central bank said in a preliminary report.

It followed a revised 4.0 percent fall recorded in September.

The recent trend of falling crude oil prices pushing down wholesale prices continued in October, as petroleum and coal products slid 27.1 percent from the previous year. Chemical products dropped 8.5 percent.

On the back of growing worries about a China-led slowdown, iron and steel saw a 5.1 percent decline and nonferrous metal a 5.3 percent fall.

Still, the food, beverages, and tobacco category gained 1.1 percent from the year before, mainly due to higher import costs of raw materials.

A Bank of Japan official said developments in China will be a key factor to watch closely as they affect commodities markets.

“Whether food prices will rise is also in focus,” the official said.

via Mainichi

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.