TOKYO, June 24 (Reuters) – Japan’s services producer price index in May rose 3.3% from a year earlier, central bank data showed on Wednesday, a sign of broadening inflationary pressure that will keep alive market expectations of further interest rate hikes.
The annual rise in the index, which tracks the price companies charge each other for services, followed a revised 3.3% gain in April.
The increase was driven by a 61.8% surge in the cost of ocean freight transportation and a 17.3% gain in international air passenger transportation, the data showed, due likely to surging fuel costs from the Middle East conflict.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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