JAPAN WHOLESALE PRICES FALL 0.1 PCT IN FEBRUARY

  Japan's overall wholesale price index
  (base 1980) fell 0.1 pct in February from a month earlier to
  86.4 for the second consecutive month-on-month fall, the Bank
  of Japan said.
      Wholesale prices fell 0.6 pct in January from December.
      The index fell 9.1 pct from a year earlier for the 21st
  straight year-on-year drop, the central bank said.
      The reduced month-on-month drop mainly stemmed from the
  recovery in world crude oil prices, it said.
      On a customs-cleared basis, crude oil prices rose to around
  17 dlrs a barrel in February from about 15 dlrs in January.
      The average value of the yen against the dollar rose 0.8
  pct to 153.50 in February from 154.67 in January and was up
  16.8 pct from 184.55 a year earlier, the bank said.
      The export price index in February fell 0.7 pct from a
  month earlier reflecting price cuts in export products like
  cars and precision instruments due to severe foreign
  competition. The index was down 7.1 pct from a year earlier.
      The import price index rose 1.1 pct from a month earlier to
  57.4 for the sixth successive month-on-month gain mainly due to
  the continued strength of world crude oil prices. But the index
  was down 29 pct from a year earlier.
      The domestic price index fell 0.1 pct to 91.9 in February,
  its 24th straight monthly drop, mainly reflecting falls in
  prices of home appliances such as colour televisions due to
  severe sales competition at home. Lower edible oil prices added
  to the decline.
      The index was down 6.7 pct from a year earlier.
      The domestic index marked its largest year-on-year drop of
  7.1 pct in January since the central bank started compiling
  such statistics in 1960 under its current system.
      Wholesale prices are likely to turn upward in March as
  higher world crude oil and raw material prices are expected,
  the bank said.
  

