Reuters — The Japanese operator of McDonald’s restaurants announced its third price hike in less than a year on Jan. 6 in the latest sign of compounding inflationary pressures on that nation’s consumers.
McDonald’s Holding Company Japan said it would raise prices on about 80 per cent of its menu from Jan. 16, citing currency fluctuations as well as surging costs for materials, labour, transportation and energy.
The hikes follow previous increases in March and September last year, as Japan grapples with inflation and a slide in the yen that has made imported ingredients more expensive.
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The price for a single cheeseburger will go up to 200 yen (US$1.49) this month from $1.06 a year ago. The cost of the signature Big Mac hamburger will go up to $3.41 from $3.10 previously.
Japanese consumers will see price increases on more than 4,000 food items from next month, researcher Teikoku Databank said Jan. 5, following an even bigger wave of hikes last October.
Separately, Japanese restaurant operators Hot Palette and Royal Holdings said they would also be raising prices in January and March, respectively, mostly on beef and steak items.
