The key gauge of consumer prices in Tokyo fell 0.4 percent in May from a year earlier, a record 44th consecutive month of decrease, the government said in a preliminary report Friday.

The consumer price index for Tokyo's 23 wards, excluding perishable foods, stood at 97.6 against the base of 100 for 2000, according to the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.

Compared with the previous month, the index rose 0.1 percent.

Consumer prices in Tokyo are regarded as a leading indicator of prices nationwide.

The 0.4 percent year-on-year fall in Tokyo's core CPI follows a similar decline in April.

Including perishables, the index dropped 0.3 percent from a year earlier to 97.8 for the 45th straight monthly fall, after a 0.2 percent drop the month before.

The size of the fall increased slightly in this category due to a month-on-month decrease in vegetable prices, a ministry official said.

Compared with prices a year earlier, education and entertainment durable goods posted the largest drop, at 14.8 percent.

This was due to a 34.3 percent plunge in the prices of notebook personal computers and a 28.5 percent decline in desktop PC prices, the official said.

"PC makers launched new models this month, but the size of the fall in PC prices became sharper than last month," he said.

Prices of household durable goods, including refrigerators, fell 7.9 percent, seafood prices decreased 6.3 percent and footwear prices dropped 5.4 percent.

But heath-care costs rose 11.1 percent, due to a hike in the share of medical fees that patients must pay under the public health insurance program.

The ministry also reported that the nationwide CPI for April, excluding perishables, fell 0.4 percent from the year before to an index reading of 98.1. It was the 43rd straight month of decline.