Japan wholesale prices fall 6.6% in June, Biggest fall on record

Japan's central bank said wholesale prices fell 6.6% in June from a year earlier, the biggest fall on record & latest sign that deflation is returning to Japan. The Bank of Japan's corp. good price index, which tracks cost of a wide range of products sold domestically, declined for a 6th straight month. On a monthly basis, prices slid 0.3% from May. The yearly fall was the largest since the central bank began keeping comparable data in. Deflation can hurt economic growth due to it cuts in company profits as prices fall. It can also lead consumer to put off purchases on the expectation prices will fall further and increase debt burdens. In June, another key indicator also showed prices drop in Japan. The gov't. said its key consumer price index fell at a record pace in May, the third straight month of drop. Friday's data from the central bank showed import prices fell 32.2% on a yen basis, while exports were down 12.8%.