Japan's Wholesale Inflation Reaches 7.6% Year-Over-Year, Boosting Rate Hike Odds

Japan's wholesale inflation remains elevated in August, data from the Bank of Japan showed on Friday. The producer price index rose 7.6 per cent year-over-year, exceeding a median market forecast for a 7.4 per cent increase.

The BOJ's data also revealed that the yen-based import price index surged 24.8 per cent in August from a year earlier, following a revised 29.3 per cent gain in July.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect the BOJ to raise interest rates to 1.25 per cent next week and then to 1.75 per cent in the second quarter of 2027, amid persistent concerns over broadening price pressures and yen weakness.

The central bank raised interest rates to a 31-year high of 1 per cent in June and kept them steady in July but signalled a strong chance of a near-term hike on mounting price pressures.