18 May 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 rose in April
According to Statistics Finland, producer price indices went up by 0.4 to 1.0 per cent in April. Import prices rose most. The rise in the import price index was mainly due to higher prices of crude oil and car parts. The rise was curbed by lower prices of base metals. From April 2000 import prices increased by 1.7 per cent.
Export prices rose by 0.8 per cent from March to April. The rise was attributable to higher prices of oil products, paper and paperboard. Export prices went up by 2.4 per cent from last year's April. The highest rises occurred in the prices of agricultural and forestry products, oil products, non-metallic mineral products, and iron, steel and ferro-alloys.
The producer prices for manufactured products, that is, prices for good intended for the domestic market went up by 3.7 per cent from last year's April. The prices of energy products rose most, by 9.5 per cent, while the prices of investment goods fell by 1.6 per cent.
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Month-on-month and year-on-year changes of Producer Price Indices in April 2001, % (1995=100) |
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|
Indices |
Point figure |
Change, % |
Change, % |
|
Producer price index for manufactured products |
106.9 |
0.5 |
3.7 |
|
Export price index |
102.4 |
0.8 |
2.4 |
|
Import price index |
109.0 |
1.0 |
1.7 |
|
Basic price index for domestic supply |
108.1 |
0.4 |
2.9 |
|
Wholesale price index |
108.2 |
0.4 |
3.0 |
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 up by 4.6 per cent from last year's April. This rise was due to higher price of crude oil. Without the energy group, the overall index fell by 6.9 per cent in the year.
Source: Producer Price Indices 2001, April. Statistics Finland