Japan's wholesale prices rose 9% in August from the previous year, matching the annual pace of growth in July, data showed on Tuesday, signalling that persistently high raw material costs continued to squeeze corporate margins.
The rise in the corporate goods price index, which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, was largely in line with a median market forecast for a 8.9% increase, Bank of Japan data showed.
The index, at 115.1, extended a record high for the fifth straight month in a sign Japan continues to feel the impact of rising global raw material prices.