Wholesale prices fell 0.2 percent in January from a year earlier for the first year-on-year decline in over five years due to sharp falls in oil and raw materials import prices, stoking deflation fears, the Bank of Japan said Thursday.
The prices, gauged by the BOJ’s corporate goods price index, stood at 105.5 against 100 in the base year of 2005, the central bank said in a preliminary report. The index has entered negative territory for the first time since December 2003, when it also posted a 0.2 percent fall year-on-year.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.