The key gauge for business in Japan has dropped for the fifth consecutive month, due to a decrease in business travel amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bank of Japan says the Services Producer Price Index fell 0.6 percent in July from the year before. That excludes the effects of last year's consumption tax hike.

Data on capital investment by Japanese companies for the January-March period has been revised down, after the impact of the coronavirus pandemic became clearer.

The survey by the Finance Ministry targeted roughly 30,000 firms with capital equivalent to at least 94,000 dollars.