Consumer prices in Tokyo in 2000 logged the largest decline on record, 1 percent on a preliminary basis, the central government said Tuesday.

The consumer price index for Tokyo's 23 wards -- an early indicator of price trends for the rest of the country -- came to 100.7 against the base of 100 in 1995, the first time it has dropped two years in a row, the Management and Coordination Agency said.

The index fell in 1995 for the first time since comparative data became available in 1971, leveled off in 1996, and rose 1.3 percent in 1997 and 0.8 percent in 1998 on the back of the government's 1997 consumption tax hike. It then fell 0.4 percent last year, the government said.

There were three reasons for this year's record fall: a good harvest, declining demand for rental housing and intensified price competition among restaurants and for durable goods, said Hideyuki Suzuki, an economist at the Economic Planning Agency.

"What impressed me this year was the 'distribution revolution,' under which price falls that I cited for clothing in January spread to restaurants and electrical appliances, and are likely to continue spreading," Suzuki said.

Prices of goods were down by 1.4 percent -- equaling their record drop in 1995 -- while the prices of services fell for the first time on record, down 0.7 percent.

Perishable foods fell 6.6 percent while other products declined 0.7 percent, both marking their largest drops.

So-called personal services -- such as greens fees and karaoke rates -- slipped for the first time. Rents, phone charges and restaurant bills -- including the halving of hamburger prices -- also dropped dramatically.

Falling rent prices, however, are likely to be peculiar to Tokyo, where the large market allows rent levels to reflect demand, which has decreased because of government tax breaks on housing loans to help people buy houses, Suzuki added.

For December alone, the index in Tokyo fell 0.6 percent from the year before, a record 16th successive year-on-year monthly decline, to 100.5, unchanged from November. The 7.6 percent rise in perishable food prices helped temper the drop in the overall index, compared with the 1 percent year-on-year fall in November.

Excluding volatile prices for perishable foods, the index was down 0.2 percent from November to 100.7, down 1 percent from the year before for the 15th straight monthly drop.

Of note in the December figures are a 0.7 percent drop from November in clothing prices, which had held steady a year ago, and a 0.5 percent rise in transportation as airlines lifted discounts because of the traditionally busy month.

The nationwide consumer price index fell 0.2 percent in November from the month before to 101.5, down 0.5 percent from a year earlier, for the 15th successive month of decline.

Excluding perishables, the index was unchanged from October at 101.8, down 0.5 percent year-on-year for the 14th straight monthly fall.