TOKYO - Japanese wholesale prices rose a preliminary 1.7 percent in November from a year earlier, marking the 14th consecutive month of increase, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said on Monday.

The index of corporate goods prices rose to 104.7 against the 2005 base of 100 and beat median forecasts for a 1.5 percent annual rise and follows a 1.6 percent annual increase logged for the previous month.

On a month-on-month basis the index gained 0.1 percent in November, better than forecasts for a 0.1 percent contraction, with the reading following a 0.7 percent decline in October, the central bank's data showed.

Overall final goods prices, which are the prices of finished products charged to businesses, dropped 0.4 percent in November from a year earlier, the BOJ said, while domestic final goods prices, which loosely track the consumer price index, declined 0.7 percent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, export prices gained 0.1 percent on month but declined 3.2 percent on year and import prices remained unchanged on month but climbed 8.7 percent on year, the central bank's latest figures showed.

The Corporate Goods Price Index tracks changes in supply side prices within Japan's economy and the changes in the CGPI often precede changes in the overall Consumer Price Index.

CGPI readings can have a large effect on the equities, commodities and forex markets following their release.