Japan's wholesale prices climb 9.2 percent in June amid soaring imports costs

TOKYO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Wholesale prices in Japan climbed 9.2 percent in June from a year earlier owing to a surge in import prices, with the jump marking the fastest pace on record owing to the yen's sharp decline, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said Tuesday.

The prices of goods traded between companies have consistently been rising by 9 percent or more over the past six months in Japan as energy, raw materials and prices for food have surged, the bank's data showed.

The BOJ's latest data showed that wholesale prices have increased year-on-year for a 16th straight month, with import prices for resource-poor Japan pushed up by the yen's plunge to more than 20-year lows against the U.S. dollar.

In yen terms, import prices rocketed 46.3 percent, marking the biggest increase since comparable data became available, the BOJ said, while export prices were up 19.1 percent in the recording period.

Prices for petroleum and coal products leapt 22.2 percent, the bank said, while iron and steel prices soared 26.7 percent.

Wood and lumber prices surged 43.3 percent, while electricity, city gas and water prices rose 28.2 percent.

"We have seen moves to pass on higher steel and energy prices in the machinery sector and raw material costs in the food and beverage industry," a BOJ official was quoted as saying, of spiking costs being passed from businesses on to consumers.

"There appear to be many companies willing to raise prices further when they review their prices, such as in July and October," the BOJ official also said.