HIGHLIGHTS-Japan's Dec wholesale price

TOKYO Jan 16 (Reuters) - Following are some highlights of Japan's machinery orders and wholesale price data.

MACHINERY ORDERS

-- The fall in core orders in November was a reaction to a big gain in October, a Cabinet Office official told reporters.

-- The ministry maintained its assessment that machinery orders are seesawing. It has stuck to the same assessment since last May.

-- To achieve the forecast by manufacturers surveyed by the Cabinet Office for a 3.1 percent rise in October-December from the previous quarter, core orders need to grow 3.6 percent in December.

-- The official said the fall was relatively small as solid demand for computers and mobile phones underpinned core orders.

-- Overseas demand in core orders saw the first year-on-year decline in eight months as a reaction against a big gain in October but stayed at a high level seen in the current economic growth cycle.

WHOLESALE PRICES

-- The 2.6 percent rise in December from a year earlier was the highest since September 2006, when prices rose 2.7 percent.

-- The rise was driven by higher prices of crude oil and commodities.

-- The price of lumber and wood products fell 2.9 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 0.5 percent fall in November, because of a slump in housing investments.

-- Domestic final consumer goods prices, which economists say loosely track consumer prices, rose 0.9 pct in December from a year earlier, compared to 0.5 percent rise in November.

-- In 2007, wholesale prices rose 1.8 percent from a year earlier, the fourth consecutive annual rise, though the rise slowed from 2.2 percent rise in 2006.

-- Price hikes were more broad-based in 2007, however. In 2006, rise in oil and non-ferrous metals accounted for most of the rise. In 2007, price hikes in manufacturered products such as processed foods, pulp and paper, and steel products also contributed to wholesale price inflation.

-- In 2007, 60.4 percent of goods saw their price rising, compared to 52.6 percent in 2006.

(Reporting by Hideyuki Sano)