MNI BRIEF: Japan Oct CGPI Rises 2.7% Y/Y; Import Price Drops

Japan’s corporate goods price index (CGPI) rose 2.7% y/y in October, down slightly from September’s revised 2.8%, while import prices posted a ninth consecutive decline, Bank of Japan data showed Thursday.

The index was supported by higher prices for nonferrous metals (+11.8% vs +9.6%) but dragged lower by electric power, gas, and water (-0.5% vs +0.6%). On a monthly basis, the CGPI rose 0.4% in October, extending gains after a revised 0.5% increase in September.

Import prices in yen terms fell 1.5% y/y in October, marking the ninth straight decline but easing from September’s 1.1% drop, suggesting weaker downward pressure from import costs.

Export prices for automobiles to the U.S. fell 12.0% in yen terms and 13.0% in contract-currency terms, compared with declines of 16.3% and 18.8% in August, indicating continued price cuts by Japanese carmakers that have squeezed profit margins.

Japan’s seven largest automakers saw U.S. tariffs erode their combined earnings by about JPY1.5 trillion in the April-September period, with first-half net profits declining across the board for the first time since the pandemic.