Japan\'s wholesale prices up 1.7 pct. in Oct.

Japan\'s wholesale prices rose 1.7 percent in October from a year earlier, marking the 13th consecutive month of increase, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said in a report on Friday. The 1.7 percent rise in the recording period follows a 2.5 percent increase logged in September and compares with consensus forecasts for a 2.2 percent increase, analysts said. However, the central bank noted in its preliminary report that the index of corporate goods prices stood at 104.7 against the 2005 base of 100, as costs for energy and commodities continued to ease in the recording period and the yen\'s persistent strength has also added downward pressure. On a month-on-month basis, the central bank reported the corporate goods price index, a gauge of corporate charges for services and goods, dropped 0.7 percent in October, compared to a 0.1 percent decline booked a month earlier. The central bank also noted that overall final goods prices, the prices of finished products charged to business, dropped 0.3 percent in October from a year earlier, while domestic final goods prices, which loosely track the consumer price index, retreated 0. 5 percent in the recording period from a year earlier.