By Leika Kihara
TOKYO, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Japan’s wholesale inflation slowed in the year to December on sliding fuel costs, data showed on Thursday, a sign falling crude oil prices were offering some relief to companies facing rising labour and other raw material costs.
The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the prices companies charge each other for their goods and services, rose 2.4% in December from a year earlier, Bank of Japan (BOJ) data showed, matching a median market forecast.
It slowed from a 2.7% annual increase in November.
An index measuring yen-based import prices was unchanged from year-before levels in December after a revised 1.7% drop in November, the data showed, highlighting renewed upward price pressure from the weak yen.
The data will be among factors the BOJ scrutinises in its quarterly review of its growth and inflation forecasts at the next policy meeting on January 22-23.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
