Japan Corporate-Service Prices Fall for First Time in Two Years

By Mayumi Otsuma

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s corporate service prices fell for the first time in more than two years in October as crude oil costs declined.

The prices businesses pay for services decreased 1.4 percent from a year earlier after gaining 0.1 percent in September, the Bank of Japan said today in Tokyo. Last month’s drop, the first since July 2006, was the steepest in five years.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mayumi Otsuma in Tokyo at motsuma@bloomberg.net