The corporate goods price index, which shows the prices of goods traded between companies, was 0.7% lower than the same month of the previous year in February preliminary figures.
However, as demand for automobiles and other products recovered, the rate of decline narrowed for the third straight month.
The preliminary figures for the February corporate goods price index released by the Bank of Japan on the 11th were 101.2 with an average of 100 in 2015, 0.7% lower than the same month of the previous year.
The decline has been for 12 consecutive months.
This is because the prices of crude oil prices are lower than the previous year due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, and the prices of "oil and coal products" and "electricity and city gas" are falling.
On the other hand, as demand for automobiles and other products recovered, prices of "steel" and "non-ferrous metals" increased compared to the same month of the previous year, and the overall negative range narrowed for the third consecutive month.
According to the Bank of Japan, "In addition to the recovery of demand in Japan and overseas, the impact of the rise in crude oil prices from last fall has begun to appear in the rise in corporate prices, albeit slightly."