Wholesale prices increased 2.5 percent in April from a year earlier for the 26th straight monthly rise, reflecting the upward trend in the prices of oil and nonferrous materials, the Bank of Japan said Monday.
The prices, gauged by the BOJ's corporate goods price inEdex, came to 99.9 against the base of 100 for 2000, the central bank said in a preliminary report.
The CGPI marked the 2.0 percent level rise for the sevEenth consecutive month. The market sees the upward trend in wholesale prices as a sign the economy may soon be pullEing out of deflation.
The BOJ attributed the April rise in the CGPI to an 18.4 percent jump in the prices of petroleum and coal products from a year ago.