Reuters reports that Bank of Japan (BOJ) data showed that Japanese wholesale prices marked their first annual increase in more than a year in March, a sign that rising commodities costs are pinching corporate margins, adding inflationary pressure to the world’s third-largest economy.

The corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the price companies charge each other for their goods and services, rose 1.0% in March from a year earlier. The jump, which was at the fastest pace since January 2020, exceeded a median market forecast for a 0.5% increase and followed a 0.6% fall in February.

Most of the gain was driven by a 29% spike in prices of non-ferrous metals goods and 9.8% rise in those for oil products and coal, showing how a rebound in global demand for commodities pushed up costs for Japanese firms.

Compared with a month ago, wholesale prices jumped 0.8% in March to mark the biggest gain since October 2019.