TOKYO, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Wholesale prices in Japan dropped 0.9 percent in August from a year earlier, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said in a report on Thursday.
According to the central bank, for the third straight month the prices of goods traded between countries declined, with the bank's latest reading marking the biggest drop since a 1.2 percent retreat booked in December 2016.
Lower crude oil and commodity prices contributed heavily to the decline, the BOJ said, with those for oil and coal products dropping 9.9 percent and prices for nonferrous metal products falling 5.3 percent in the recording period.
A BOJ official was quoted as saying that concerns over trade issues had weighed on prices, with crude oil and commodity prices such as copper marking notable declines in the reporting period.
A knock-on effect of the decline in crude oil prices saw chemical products also lose ground, with prices down 4.7 percent, the BOJ said.
Prices for waste and scrap also weighed on the overall figure, plunging 21.7 percent, the BOJ also said.
Due to a comparatively firm yen against the U.S. dollar, export prices were down 5.7 percent, while those for imports in the recording period tumbled 8.3 percent in yen terms, the central bank's latest report also showed.
