Japan Wholesale Inflation Misses Forecast at 6.8% in September While Underlying Pressures Persist

Japan's corporate goods price index rose 6.8% year-on-year in September, falling short of market expectations of 7.6%. On a monthly basis, producer prices dropped 0.3%, missing forecasts of a 0.5% gain. The headline deceleration was driven by steep month-on-month declines in agricultural, forestry, and fishery prices, which slid 8.8%, and petroleum and coal products, down 2.2%. However, industrial input costs remained elevated, including chemicals up 13.3% and plastics up 12.8% year-on-year, while the yen-based import price index jumped 24.5%, preserving market expectations for potential Bank of Japan interest rate hikes.