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Japan's domestic

wholesale prices up

TOKYO: Japan's domestic wholesale prices in March rose 0.1 percent from a year earlier, marking the first rise after 24 consecutive year-on-year declines, the Bank of Japan said on Monday.

The March data followed a year-on-year fall of 0.1 percent in February.

In a month-on-month comparison, the March prices were unchanged from a 0.1 percent rise in February, the central bank said.

March export wholesale prices dropped 6.9 percent year-on-year and were down 2.2 percent from February. The import prices rose 4.1 percent from March 1999 and 1.6 percent from the previous month.ÑAFP