Japan's wholesale prices rise 7.6 pct in August

TOKYO, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Japan's wholesale prices in August rose 7.6 percent from a year earlier, Bank of Japan (BOJ) data showed Friday.

The growth in prices of goods traded between companies decelerated from a revised 7.7 percent gain in July, with the index remaining above 7 percent for the third consecutive month amid high crude oil prices, according to the BOJ.

Import prices jumped 24.8 percent in August from a year earlier, after a revised 29.3 percent surge in July, while export prices climbed 17.9 percent.

The figures come as markets expect the Japanese central bank to raise its policy rate to 1.25 percent at next week's policy meeting, after raising it to a 31-year high of 1 percent in June and leaving it unchanged in July.