The Bank of Japan's index measuring producer prices was up 0.3 percent on month in March, the bank said on Monday, standing at 103.5.
That beat forecasts for a decline of 0.1 percent - which would have been unchanged from the February reading following a downward revision from no change.
On a yearly basis, prices added 0.7 percent - beating forecasts for a gain of 0.4 percent following the downwardly revised 0.4 percent increase in the previous month (originally 0.5 percent).
Export prices added 0.1 percent on month and shed 4.8 percent on year, the data showed, while import prices gained 1.0 percent on month but plummeted 17.1 percent on year.
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