TOKYO, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Japan's wholesale price inflation increased in May to 9.1 percent from a year earlier, owing to a spike in raw material prices and the yen's weaker tone, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said Friday.
The bank said that the 9.1 percent gain came on the heels of a revised 9.8 percent rise in April, marking the fastest pace since records began.
According to the central bank, the prices of goods traded between companies increased for a 15th successive month with the likelihood that rapidly increasing consumer prices would dent private consumption.
Unlike other major central banks, the BOJ has steadfastly stuck to its pledge of maintaining its ultra-low interest rate policy despite a widening interest rate gap between the BOJ and other central banks, and the yen's steep falls against the dollar and euro.
The BOJ said that import prices in the reporting period soared a record 43.3 percent from a year earlier, as a weak yen pushed up prices of energy imports.
Export prices in the same period, meanwhile, increased 16.7 percent in yen terms, the bank said,
Petroleum and coal products jumped 21.6 percent in May, while iron and steel leaped 29.8 percent, according to the BOJ.
Lumber and wood products rocketed 56.1 percent, while electricity, gas and water bills rose 28.6 percent, in the reporting period, the bank also said. ■
