18 April 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
Producer prices continued to fall in March
According to Statistics Finland, producer price indices went down in March for the fourth successive month. Import and export prices fell most. Producer prices for manufactured products remained unchanged.
Import prices fell by 0.8 per cent from February to March. The fall was primarily due to lower prices of energy products, raw materials and output commodities. Prices of agricultural products also declined. In March import prices were almost on the same level as in last year's March.
Export prices fell by 0.7 per cent from February to March. The fall was mainly attributable to lower prices of pulp, paper products, timber and base metals. The export price index is still 2.2 per cent higher than in March 2000.
The producer price index for manufactured products was unchanged from the previous month. The rise in electricity prices was, however, compensated by lower prices of pulp, paper products and oil products. In the year to March, producer prices for manufactured products rose by 3.2 per cent. Prices of energy products went up by 5.5 per cent and those of raw materials and output commodities by 5.0 per cent. Prices of consumer durables increased by 3.7 per cent and those of other consumer goods by 1.4 per cent from March 2000.
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Month-on-month and year-on-year changes of Producer Price Indices in March 2001 (1995=100) |
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Indices |
Point figure |
Change, % |
Change, % |
|
Producer price index for manufactured products |
106.5 |
0.0 |
3.2 |
|
Export price index |
101.5 |
-0.7 |
2.2 |
|
Import price index |
108.0 |
-0.8 |
0.1 |
|
Basic price index for domestic supply |
107.7 |
-0.1 |
2.3 |
|
Wholesale price index |
107.7 |
-0.3 |
2.1 |
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, went down by 5.8 per cent from last year's March. Raw material prices of food, beverages and tobacco and prices of non-ferrous metals fell most, by 10.8 and 8.3 per cent, respectively. Prices of energy products also went down by 5.5 per cent.
Source: Producer Price Indices 2001, March. Statistics Finland