Wholesale prices rose at close to their fastest pace in almost three decades in April, prompting companies to pass higher costs onto clients or absorb them by sacrificing profits, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday.
Producer prices climbed 3.7 percent from a year earlier, after a 3.9 percent gain in March, the BOJ said. The median estimate in a survey of 32 economists was for 3.6 percent.
Bonds fell on speculation that the central bank may raise rates this year to quell inflation. BOJ Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said higher costs and slower growth overseas are the biggest risks to the economy.