Japan Producer Prices Rise More than Expected

Japan’s producer prices rose 2.4% year-on-year in December 2025, easing from a 2.7% increase in the previous month and in line with market expectations. This marked the slowest annual rise since May 2024. Cost moderated for: transport equipment (1.4% vs 1.5% in November), drinks and foods (5.0% vs 5.1%), general-purpose machinery (2.8% vs 3.0%), other manufacturing (2.3% vs 2.4%), production machinery (3.5% vs 4.0%), and plastics (0.4% vs 0.5%). In addition, prices remained weak for chemicals (-3.2% vs -3.5%), iron and steel (-6.7% vs -6.9%), and petroleum and coal products (-8.6% vs -2.5%). In contrast, inflation accelerated for non-ferrous metals (22.1% vs 14.9%), electrical machinery (2.5% vs 2.4%), metal products (0.3% vs 0.1%), information and communications (1.8% vs 1.6%), and business-oriented machinery (2.4% vs 0.9%).On a monthly basis, producer inflation slowed to 0.1% from 0.3% in November, matching forecasts and registering the softest pace in four months.

Japan’s producer prices rose 2.7% year-on-year in November 2025, unchanged from October and in line with market expectations. Cost continued to increase for most components: transport equipment (1.6% vs 1.5% in October), beverages and foods (4.9% vs 4.9% 5.0%), general-purpose machinery (2.7% vs 2.5%), other manufacturing (2.3% vs 2.6%), non-ferrous metals (14.9% vs 11.9%), electrical machinery (2.3% vs 1.7%), production machinery (3.6% vs 2.5%), metal products (0.1% vs 0.7%), plastics (0.3% vs 1.2%), information and communications (1.5% vs 0.3%), and business-oriented machinery (0.7% vs 0.8%). On the other hand, prices fell further for chemicals (-3.6% vs -3.8%), iron and steel (-6.8% vs -7.1%), and petroleum and coal products (-2.6% vs -0.8%). On a monthly basis, producer inflation increased 0.3%, also matching forecasts but easing from an upwardly revised 0.5% rise in the previous month.

Japan’s producer prices rose 2.7% yoy in October 2025, easing slightly from a marginally revised 2.8% gain in September but above market expectations of 2.5%. Cost continued to grow for most components: transport equipment (1.6% vs 2.1% in September), beverages and foods (4.8% vs 4.8% 5.0%), general-purpose machinery (2.4% vs 3.5%), other manufacturing (2.5% vs 2.8%), non-ferrous metals (11.8% vs 9.6%), electrical machinery (2.7% vs 2.8%), production machinery (2.0% vs 3.0%), metal products (0.7% vs 2.5%), plastics (1.2% vs 1.8%), information and communications (0.4% vs 1.3%), and business-oriented machinery (0.7% vs 1.1%). On the other hand, prices fell further for chemicals (-3.8% vs -4.0%), iron and steel (-6.9% vs -7.0%), and petroleum and coal products (-0.8% vs -1.8%). On a monthly basis, prices increased 0.4%, just below forecasts of 0.5%, marking the second consecutive month of increases.