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Roundup: Japan's wholesale prices drop in Feb. as commodities' slump continues to weigh

Xinhua, March 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Japan's wholesale prices dropped 3.4 percent in February on year, marking the 11th successive month of decline, as a drop in commodity prices continued to weigh on the index, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said on Thursday.

According to the central bank's preliminary report, the index of corporate goods prices stood at 99.8 against the 2010 base of 100, with the decline following a 3.2 percent drop logged a month earlier.

As the global oil glut continues, with worldwide prices for crude continuing a largely downward trajectory, petroleum and coal-linked product prices took a hit, the bank said, with prices plummeting 21.8 percent on year, while prices of electric power, gas and water retreated 12.5 percent in the recording period.

Other factors weighing on the index included prices for scrap and waste plunging almost 30 percent and those for nonferrous metals dropping 12.5 percent, the bank also said.

The producer price index lost 0.2 percent from a month earlier, the BOJ added, while the export price index lost 0.2 percent on a contract currency basis. The import price index, meanwhile, lost 2.9 percent in the recording period from the previous month, the central bank's data revealed.

A BOJ official stated Thursday that a decline in commodity prices and a comparatively firm yen had ensured import prices remained under pressure as well as impacting prices in the domestic economy. The official said however a turnaround could be on the cards, despite the yen's firmness, as both commodity and stock markets have been performing well, reflecting a risk-off mood among investors in local and neighboring markets.

The BOJ also noted, however, that in yen terms export prices had slumped 7.9 percent in February, while import prices tumbled 17.8 percent in the recording period.

Prices for food and beverages marked an uptick, however, increasing 0.9 percent and prices of pulp, paper-linked products also rose, gaining 0.8 percent, the BOJ said. Endit