Japan's wholesale prices surged in October, driven by rising costs of petroleum-related products. Preliminary data from the Bank of Japan revealed that the Producer Price Index (PPI) climbed 7.1 percent year-over-year, marking a 0.3 percentage point increase from September. The PPI measures prices of goods exchanged between companies.
The cost of gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum products soared nearly 16 percent. Chemical items like ethylene also saw a significant rise of 15.5 percent, attributed to higher prices of the raw material naphtha.
Nonferrous metals experienced a sharp jump of nearly 32 percent. Copper prices rose due to growing global demand for artificial intelligence, while damage to an aluminum production base in the Middle East contributed to the increase.
Central bank officials noted that crude oil prices have been trending upward since the summer. They observed that many companies passed on their higher costs to consumers last month.