Wholesale prices in Japan grew 2.7 percent in January from a year earlier, marking the fastest growth in nearly 16 years, the Bank of Japan said Friday.

The prices, gauged by the BOJ's corporate goods price index, came to 99 against the base of 100 for 2000, the central bank said in a preliminary report. The 2.7 percent rise was the sharpest since March 1990, when wholesale prices increased 2.9 percent.

The CGPI rose for the 23rd straight month.