— Japan Sep CGPI +2.5% Y/Y Vs Aug +2.6%
— Japan Sep CGPI MNI Poll Median Forecast: +2.4% Y/Y
— Japan Sep CGPI Posts 12th Straight Y/Y Rise
TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s corporate goods price index rose 2.5% from a
year earlier in September, marking the 12th consecutive y/y rise but
decelerating from +2.6% in August on smaller y/y gains in energy and
commodity prices, data released by the Bank of Japan on Friday.
The September CGPI increase came in slightly above the median
forecast for a 2.4% rise in a Market News International survey of
economists.
From the previous month, CGPI fell 0.1% in September, marking the
second consecutive m/m drop after falling 0.2% in August.
The slower y/y rise in September was due mainly to smaller on-year
gains in prices of refined petroleum products as well as iron and steel.
The strong yen also lowered import costs.
The BOJ’s overseas commodity index — composed of 17 items
including crude oil, copper, gold, wheat and beef — stood at 185.9
(against 100.0 for the 2005 base year) in September, rose 19.5% on year
but the pace of increased slowed from +40.9% in August.
The dollar averaged at Y76.78 in September, compared with Y77.09 in
August and Y84.31 in September 2010.
The number of items whose prices rose from a year earlier totaled
406 in September, or 47.5% of the basket, compared with 402, or 47.0% in
August, while the number of items whose prices fell came to 286, or
33.5%, compared with 291, or 34.0%, in August, a BOJ official said.
It was the sixth consecutive month that the share of rising prices
exceeded that of falling prices.
CGPI rose a revised 2.8% y/y in July this year, posting the highest
gain since +4.5% seen in October 2008.
The index has recovered steadily from the record 8.5% drop marked
in August and July 2009, which were the largest year-on-year declines
since the BOJ began compiling the data in 1960.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4833 **
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