Wholesale prices rose 2.2 percent in July from a year earlier for the fourth straight monthly increase, reflecting higher electricity prices and the effects of the yen's depreciation, the Bank of Japan said Monday.
The index of corporate goods prices stood at 102.1 against the 2010 base of 100, the central bank said in a preliminary report.
The rise, which followed a 1.2 percent gain in June, largely stemmed from seasonal hikes in electricity prices, with prices of electric power, gas and water surging 9.5 percent from a year earlier.