Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Sunday that consumer prices would likely continue to decline despite an economic recovery, because of higher productivity and lower wages. "We see the CPI (consumer price index) continuing in a slightly negative trend. Rather than a big demand-supply gap, though, it will be because of improved productivity and lower wages," he told a news conference in Washington after attending a Group of Seven meeting and other international conferences. He also reiterated the central bank would persist with its quantitative easing policy to stamp out deflation, which has weighed on Japan's for about five years.///www..con