CORRECTED: Tokyo consumer prices down 1.2% in Oct.

TOKYO, Oct. 27 Kyodo

Consumer prices in Tokyo extended their record decline to 14 straight months in October from a year earlier, sliding 1.2% on lower fresh vegetable prices, the Management and Coordination Agency said Friday.

In a preliminary report, the agency said the consumer price index (CPI) for Tokyo's 23 wards -- an early indicator of price trends for the rest of the nation -- came to 100.8 against the 1995 base of 100.

''Consumer prices have been somewhat weakening in recent months,'' an Economic Planning Agency (EPA) economist said in a departure by the government from its long-held line that prices are moving in a stable manner.

The EPA economist said the modification in the government's assessment reflects the agency's view that demand on the consumer side remains sluggish.

The Management and Coordination Agency said the main culprit behind the fall in the capital's CPI was a 6.3% fall in fresh vegetable prices.

Other reasons included price falls in restaurants and in entertainment-related services, both by 1.8%, plus a drop in rents, by 1.4%.

Excluding volatile prices of perishables, the CPI index for Tokyo in October stood at 100.9 against the 1995 base of 100, down 1.0% from the year before.

On a month-to-month comparison, the CPI for the capital in the latest reporting month fell 0.1% to 100.8 for the second consecutive monthly decline.

Meanwhile, consumer prices nationwide in September sagged 0.8% from a year earlier to 101.6 for the 13th straight month of decrease, owing to slides in prices of fresh fruits and vegetables. The nationwide CPI rose 0.3% from the previous month.

Excluding prices of perishables, nationwide consumer prices contracted 0.5% from a year before, down for the 12th consecutive month, as airfares declined from the August holiday-season peaks.