18 October 2001
Inquiries: Mr Jari Harjunpää +358 9 1734 3472, Ms
Marja Ikonen +358 9 1734 3480, thi.tilastokeskus@stat.fi
Director in charge: Mr Ilkka Lehtinen
Import prices fell by 6.7 per cent in the year
According to Statistics Finland, import prices went down by 6.7 per cent in the year to September. The fall of the index was primarily caused by lower prices of crude oil and base metals. From August to September, import prices rose by 0.5 per cent due to higher prices of energy products.
Export prices went down by 4.1 per cent from last year's September. The fall was mainly due to lower prices of base metals, pulp, oil products and electrical products. The fall of the prices was curbed by higher prices of paper, paperboard and agricultural products from one year previously. From August to September, export prices fell by 0.5 per cent.
The producer prices for manufactured products, that is, prices for goods intended for the domestic market fell by 0.7 per cent from September 2000. The fall was mainly caused by reduced prices of pulp, oil products and base metals. The fall was restrained by higher price of electricity. From August to September, the producer prices for manufactured products declined by 0.8 per cent.
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Month-on-month and year-on-year changes of Producer Price Indices in September 2001, % (1995=100) |
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Indices |
Point figure |
Change, % |
Change, % |
Producer price index for manufactured products |
106.6 |
-0.8 |
-0.7 |
Export price index |
99.0 |
-0.5 |
-4.1 |
Import price index |
107.8 |
0.5 |
-6.7 |
Basic price index for domestic supply |
107.8 |
-0.2 |
-2.0 |
Wholesale price index |
108.0 |
-0.2 |
-2.2 |
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 16.9 per cent from September 2000. Prices of non-ferrous metals and crude oil fell most, by 23.6 and 20.2 per cent, respectively.
Source: Producer Price Indices 2001, September. Statistics Finland