-- Japan's producer prices rose in March, driven by higher fuel and import costs, with the corporate goods price index climbing 0.8% from the previous month and 2.6% from a year earlier, according to government data released Friday.
Export prices rose 0.8% on the month, while import prices increased 1.5%, reflecting gains in petroleum, coal and natural gas costs.
Petroleum and coal products led the increase in producer prices, contributing 0.46 percentage points to the monthly rise, followed by chemicals and related products.
On a yearly basis, export prices climbed 13.3%, while import prices rose 7.9%.