Japan Producer Prices Rise as Energy Costs Add Pressure Ahead of BOJ Rate Meeting

Japan imports most of its energy resources, making the economy especially sensitive to swings in global oil and fuel prices.

Visitors at the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Jan. 17, 2023. Issei Kato/Reuters

Japan’s producer prices rose sharply in April, as Bank of Japan (BOJ) data showed that higher fuel and energy costs spread through the economy, adding to pressure on policymakers ahead of next month’s interest rate decision.

The BOJ said on May 15 that Japan’s Producer Price Index, a measure of prices businesses charge one another, increased 2.3 percent in April from the previous month and 4.9 percent from a year earlier.