– Japan Dec Corp Service Prices Post 1st Y/Y Rise In 2 Months

TOKYO (MNI) – Japan’s corporate service price index rose 0.1% in
December, marking the first year-on-year rise in two months following
-0.1% in November, Bank of Japan data released on Thursday showed.

The December reading followed a 0.1% fall in November and +0.1% in
October, which was the first year-on-year rise in 37 months.

Japan’s CSPI fell 0.5% on-year in 2011, compared with -1.3% in
2010.

Meanwhile, core CSPI excluding international transportation, a
measure free of volatile factors, was flat from a year earlier in
December, after falling 0.2% in November.

The downward pressure on prices has generally eased since total
CSPI posted a record drop of -3.8% in August 2009, which was the largest
decline since the BOJ began compiling CSPI data in January 1985.

The total CSPI, which stood at 96.4 in December against 100 in the
2005 base year, was unchanged from the previous month, after falling
0.1% on-month in November.

The corporate services price index tracks prices for a wide range
of corporate services, ranging from finance and insurance charges to the
cost of shipping goods by road rail, air or sea.

tokyo@marketnews.com
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