Apple Inc. (AAPL) Products’ Prices Affected By Japan’s Weak Yen

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has increased the price of all iPad and iPod versions in Japan, and the reason that the company cited behind the rise in price was the continuing weakness in yen against the US dollar. The iPhone maker said that due to the weak yen the companies are struggling to sell imported products, reports Japanese public broadcaster NHK (via Bloomberg).

Apple Inc. (AAPL) Products' Prices Affected By Japan's Weak Yen

“We made some pricing adjustments due to changes in foreign exchange rates,” Apple spokesman Takashi Takabayashi told Bloomberg.

Price Difference on Apple Products

The Japanese Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Online Store is carrying a price tag of 42,800 yen (about $424 at Thursday’s rate of 100.92 yen to the dollar) for a 16 GB iPad with Wi-Fi, in April. At present, the same version of the iPad is available at 49,800 yen, which is 7000 yen more than the previous price. In dollar terms, the change comes to $70. The price of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPad mini has also been increased. The 16GB WI-Fi version, which was previously available at 28,800 yen, is now priced at 32,800 yen.

In the iPod segment, the price of 32GB touch has increased from 24,800 yen to 29,800 yen. The nano and shuffle range are tagged at 2,000 yen and 600 yen more than the previous price. The iPod classic, which was priced at 20,900 yen in April, is now available for 24,800 yen.

The network carriers in Japan, SoftBank and KDDI who provide iPhone’s and iPad’s in their stores said that as of now they have not made any decision to declare that customers will have to pay more.

Reasons For Weak Yen

The yen is falling due to the policies followed by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in order to stop currency deflation. In the start of May, the currency declined to more than 101 yen to US dollar, which was its lowest point since 2009.

The Bank of Japan in April brought fresh incentives and promised to bring $1.4 trillion into the economy in a time span of less than two years in order to fulfill its aim of maintaining 2 percent inflation in approximately two years.

Apple Not Alone

Prior to the price increase by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), high end jewelry maker Tiffany & Co also increased its price even after the sales increased by 20 percent in yen terms during the first quarter.

Miele, which is a German appliances maker, increased its price on products like dishwashers due to the same reason of weak yen.

The largest foreign car company in Japan, Volkswagen AG increased the preset prices of it 14 models, in May 2013, by an average 1.5 percent.

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