July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks fell, capping a fourth week of decline and extending the benchmark's longest losing streak in half a century, on concern energy prices are curbing consumer demand and funding is drying up for developers.

Asahi Breweries Ltd. sank the most in six months, while condominium builder Urban Corp. plunged to a four-year low. Tokai Carbon Co. soared the most in seven years on its plan to raise prices on graphite electrodes.

Crude oil rose to records in three of the past five trading days and hit $145.85 yesterday. It's soared 51 percent this year, causing Japan's consumer prices to rise the fastest in a decade.

``Investors have never experienced a surge in oil like this and they are clueless about when it will end or the effect on corporate earnings,'' said Yuuki Sakurai, general manager of investment planning at Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co., which manages about $54 billion. ``This isn't a situation investors can cope with.''

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 27.51, or 0.2 percent, to 13,237.89 in Tokyo, extending its drop to a 12th day. The broader Topix index sank 0.14, or 0.01 percent, to 1,297.88.

The last time the Nikkei fell for 12 days straight was in 1954, when the end of the Korean War caused a slump in Japanese industrial sales to the U.S. military, said Tatsuo Kurokawa, an investment analyst at Japan Asia Securities Co.

For the week, the Nikkei dropped 2.3 percent, while the Topix declined 1.7 percent. Both gauges fell for the fourth- straight week.

Risk Sensitive

Asahi fell 83 yen, or 4.3 percent, to 1,835 yen, the biggest decline since Jan. 3, after Morgan Stanley cut its rating to ``equalweight'' from ``overweight.'' J. Front Retailing Co., Japan's biggest department store operator, dropped 2.5 percent to 554 yen, while Kikkoman Corp., the nation's leading maker of soy sauce, fell 3 percent to 1,246 yen, the most since April 10.

Urban tumbled 28 percent to 189 yen, the biggest decline since it listed on the Tokyo exchange in 2000. The builder fell on concern it may not be able to complete the sale of convertible bonds to BNP Paribas SA. The companies rejected the speculation.

``Now that the economy is slowing and land prices have started falling, banks have become very sensitive about risks associated with real-estate companies,'' said Mitsushige Akino, who manages the equivalent of $557 million at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. in Tokyo.

Rival builder Joint Corp. tumbled 13 percent to 483 yen, the lowest since August 2003, while Risa Partners Inc. dropped 9 percent to 152,000 yen. A gauge representing 56 developers plunged to the lowest since March 31 and was the biggest loser among 33 industry groups on the Topix.

Electrode Prices

The Markit iTraxx Japan index, a measure of the cost to protect corporate bonds from default, jumped yesterday to the highest in more than three months, Morgan Stanley prices showed.

Tokai Carbon leapt 11.4 percent to 1,132 yen, the sharpest gain since March 2001, and was the biggest winner on the Nikkei. Nippon Carbon Co. gained 7 percent, after having lost 14 percent in the past eight days.

Tokai Carbon will raise electrode prices for export by about 70 percent to pass on surging costs and as demand increases in emerging markets, the Tokyo-based company said today.

JFE Holdings Inc., the world's third-largest steelmaker, jumped 2.4 percent to 5,050 yen, while bigger competitor Nippon Steel Corp. added 1.5 percent. Mitsubishi Steel Manufacturing Co., Japan's oldest spring maker, jumped 4.1 percent to 487 yen.

A gauge of steelmaker shares, the biggest winner among 33 industry groups on the Topix today, lost 15 percent in the past month through yesterday. The gauge's relative strength index, a moving average based on gains and losses, had fallen to 33.4, close to the 30 threshold some traders use as a signal to buy.

``The measures investors usually go by to evaluate stocks are out of order,'' Fukoku's Sakurai said. ``They're only attracted to companies with products that have demand globally or to shares that have fallen recently.''

Nikkei futures expiring in September rose 0.5 percent to 13,280 in Osaka and gained 0.4 percent to 13,290 in Singapore.

To contact the reporters on this story: Makiko Kitamura in Tokyo at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net; Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 4, 2008 04:37 EDT