Wholesale prices jumped 1.7 percent in 2005 from the previous year for the second straight yearly rise and marking the biggest increase since 1989, due mainly to higher crude oil prices, the Bank of Japan said Monday.
The wholesale price level, as measured by the BOJ's corporate goods price index, stood at 97.7 against a base of 100 for 2000, the central bank said. In 1989, the index rose 1.9 percent.
Prices for petroleum and coal products surged 20.3 percent in 2005 from the previous year on the back of higher fuel prices, a BOJ official said.