Japan's wholesale prices rise 3.5 pct in November

TOKYO, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Japan's wholesale prices increased 3.5 percent in November from a year earlier, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said Tuesday in a preliminary report.

According to the BOJ, as well as prices gaining for the 11th straight month owing to higher energy costs, November's figure marked the fastest pace since September 2014.

The index of corporate goods prices came to 99.8 against the 2015 base of 100, the BOJ said.

Components contributing to the rise included oil and coal products, which climbed 19.0 percent as oil producing countries continued to reduce production.

This in turn saw electricity and other utilities jump 10.2 percent.

Nonferrous metals including copper and aluminum were up 17.2 percent in the recording period, owing to robust demand from China and the United States, the central bank said.

Import prices were up 10.2 percent, the BOJ said, due to a weaker Japanese yen, while export prices increased 6.8 percent.

Core consumer prices, which exclude fresh foods because of their volatility, increased 0.8 percent from a year earlier, despite the BOJ's ultra easy monetary policy.

Consumer inflation still remains below the bank's lofty 2 percent inflation target as domestic demand remains weak.

This is compounded by companies disinclined to increase wages despite making profits and thus households hesitant to spend when the prices of services and products increase. Enditem