Wholesale prices rose strongly again in June, jumping 3.3 percent from a year earlier, matching the May increase and reflecting a continued surge in crude oil and other commodities, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday.
The BOJ's corporate goods price index rose to 100.5 against a base of 100 for 2000, the central bank said in a preliminary report.
The CGPI increased year on year in June for the 28th straight month. The 3.3 percent rises in both May and June were the largest since March 1981.
The data provide further evidence the economy is shaking off deflation and will strengthen the case for a BOJ decision to end its "zero-interest-rate" policy at a two-day policy meeting starting Thursday, analysts said.