19 February, 2001
Inquiries: Mr Jari Harjunpää +358 9 1734 3472, Ms
Sonja Kuusisto +358 9 1734 3469, thi.tilastokeskus@stat.fi
Director in charge: Mr Jarmo Hyrkkö
Import prices fell by 1.2 per cent in January
According to Statistics Finland, import prices went down by 1.2 per cent from December 2000 to January 2001. This fall was principally due to lower prices of oil products, base metals, vehicles and metal ores.
The import price index rose by 4.4 per cent in the year to January. The rise was mainly attributable to higher prices of chemicals and chemical products, crude oil and oil products, and vehicles.
In January the export price index remained unchanged from December. Compared to one year previously, export prices went up by 7.0 per cent. The rise was primarily caused by higher prices of pulp, paper, paper products, base metals, oil products, chemicals and chemical products, and machinery and equipment. The rise of the index was curbed by lower prices of radio, television and communication equipment.
Wholesale prices declined by 0.9 per cent from last year's December. Prices of energy products, raw materials and output commodities fell most. In contrast, prices of consumer durables increased by 0.3 per cent. Wholesale prices rose by 4.5 per cent in the year to January.
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Month-on-month and year-on-year changes of Producer Price Indices in January 2001, % (1995=100) |
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|
Indices |
Point figure |
Change, % |
Change, % |
|
Producer price index for manufactured goods |
106.4 |
-0.9 |
5.0 |
|
Export price index |
102.8 |
0.0 |
7.0 |
|
Import price index |
109.6 |
-1.2 |
4.4 |
|
Basic price index for domestic supply |
108.1 |
-0.9 |
4.7 |
|
Wholesale price index |
108.2 |
-0.9 |
4.5 |
Producer price indices measure the development of commodity prices from enterprises' viewpoint. The basic price index for domestic supply measures the development of prices exclusive of tax of goods used in Finland as they enter the market. The wholesale price index describes the change in the purchase prices of goods used in Finland inclusive of tax. Both these indices contain domestic and imported goods.
The HWWA Index, used to measure the dollar-based world market prices of raw materials, rose by 0.5 per cent from December 2000 to January 2001. Without energy products the overall index increased by 0.3 per cent in the same period.
Source: Producer Price Indices 2001, January. Statistics Finland