Japan's annual wholesale inflation hit 4.0% in February, data showed on Wednesday, underscoring pressure from rising raw material costs that will keep alive market expectations of a near-term interest rate hike by the central bank.

Japans annual wholesale inflation reached 4.0% in February, reflecting rising raw material costs and reinforcing market expectations of a near-term interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ). The corporate goods

Japan’s core inflation rate, which excludes fresh food but includes fuel costs, slowed to 3% in February from 3.2% in January, but still exceeded forecasts of 2.9%. This marked the second consecutive month that inflation surpassed expectations,