18 September 2001
Inquiries: Mr Jari Harjunpää +358 9 1734 3472, Ms
Sonja Kuusisto +358 9 1734 3469, thi.tilastokeskus@stat.fi
Director in charge: Mr Ilkka Lehtinen
Import prices fell by 4.6 per cent in the year
According to Statistics Finland, import prices went down by 4.6 per cent from August 2000 to August 2001. The fall was mainly due to lower prices of crude oil, base metals, electrical products, metal ores and oil products. The fall of the index was curbed by higher prices of vehicles and coal. From July to August, import prices fell by 0.8 per cent. The fall was primarily caused by lower prices of vehicles, base metals, metal ores, basic chemicals and oil products.
Export prices went down by 2.6 per cent from last year's August. The most substantial falls concerned prices of non-ferrous metals, down by 5.2 per cent. From July to August, export prices fell by 0.8 per cent.
The rise of wholesale prices has slowed down on the annual level since the early part of the year. In August wholesale prices turned down, by 0.1 per cent. The fall was mainly due to lower prices of base metals, pulp, electrical products, crude oil and oil products. The fall of the index was restrained by higher prices of electricity, heat, food and beverages. From July to August, the wholesale price index declined by 0.2 per cent.
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Month-on-month and year-on-year changes of Producer Price Indices in August 2001, % (1995=100) |
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|
Indices |
Point figure |
Change, % |
Change, % |
|
Producer price index for manufactured products |
107.5 |
0.1 |
1.5 |
|
Export price index |
99.5 |
-0.8 |
-2.6 |
|
Import price index |
107.2 |
-0.8 |
-4.6 |
|
Basic price index for domestic supply |
108.0 |
-0.1 |
-0.2 |
|
Wholesale price index |
108.1 |
-0.2 |
-0.1 |
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 10.6 per cent from August 2000. Prices of non-ferrous metals fell most, by 17.0 per cent. Price of crude oil was 12.3 per cent lower than in August last year.
Source: Producer Price Indices 2001, August. Statistics Finland