Japan's wholesale prices remain above 7% in Aug.

Japan's wholesale prices remain above 7% in Aug.

Japan's wholesale inflation remained high in August, reflecting rising prices of oil products due to the Middle East situation.

The Producer Price Index rose 7.6 percent from a year earlier.

The Bank of Japan's preliminary figures show that the pace of increase slowed by 0.1 percentage point from July. But it came in above 7 percent for the third month in a row. The index gauges prices of goods traded among businesses.

Prices of petroleum and coal products, including gasoline and diesel, jumped 14.7 percent.

Chemical goods, such as synthetic rubber, were up 13.9 percent thanks to the higher cost of naphtha. Plastic products climbed 11.2 percent.

The central bank says the prices of electronic devices also increased due to growing demand in the AI sector.