Japan wholesale prices log fastest drop since 2002

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TOKYO, April 13 (AFP): Japanese wholesale prices fell at their fastest annual pace in nearly seven years last month, official data showed today, adding to worries about the renewed threat of deflation.
Corporate goods prices fell by 2.2 per cent in March from a year earlier, down for a third straight month, the Bank of Japan reported.
It was the steepest year-on-year drop since May 2002 and followed declines of 1.6 per cent in February and 0.7 per cent in January.
"Companies are in tough competition to cut prices due to weak consumer sentiment," said Hideyuki Araki, economist at the Resona Research Institute.